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THE 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



ALEXANDER W. HIDDEN. 




OA, 



NEW YORK: 

PUBLISHED BY 

NICHOLAS W. HIDDEN. 



1895. 



Copyright, 1895, 

BY 

Alexander W. Hidden. 



2 



To the Memory 
of 

My beloved Mother, Mary W. Hidden,, 
and OF 

My eldest Brother, Constantine, 

This volume is respectfully and affectionately 
dedicated. 



PREFACE 



The object of this book is to give a concise history 
of the Sultans of Turkey, from the foundation of 
their dynasty to the present day ; with a description 
of the manners and customs of the Ottomans, 

Its perusal will make the reader better acquainted 
with the Turkish people, and the events which are 
transpiring among them. 

The question may be asked — Why should another 
history of Turkey be added to those which are 
already before the public ? In reply, it can be said, 
that, many works of a similar character have already 
appeared, among the best of which is that of Sir 
E. S. Creasy ; yet, this one differs in arrangement, 
in the general survey of the country, which is the re- 
sult of personal observation and experience. In it 
I have presented a series of events in succession, 
from the earliest authentic records, without going 
too much into detail. The notes in the smaller print, 
descriptive of the Turkish people, will please the 
reader. 

I acknowledge with great pleasure the assistance 
afforded by the following Greek and English authors : 
Scarlato D. Byzantius; Constantine Paparrigopoulos; 
A. D. Mordtmann ; Thomas Gordon ; Sir Edward S. 
Creasy, M. A.; with aid from other authentic sources 
which verifies this work and adds much interest to 



vi 



PREFACE. 



its pages. The loyal co-operation of my brother 
Nicholas W. Hidden, my .close companion during 
our home life in Constantinople, is most gratefully 
appreciated ; as well as that of Mrs. E. S. West, 
A. M. P'd D., also a native of the far East. 

The Mohammedans differ so greatly in every re- 
spect from the Christian races, that it is impossible 
for any one who has not lived among them for years 
fully to understand their manner of life. My father, 
a native of New York City, occupied an important 
official position under the Imperial Ottoman Gov- 
ernment for fifty-five successive years ; his experi- 
ence, in connection with my birth, and residence of 
forty years in Constantinople, and my familiarity 
with the Oriental languages, have been important 
factors in this work, and are vouchers for the ac- 
curacy of my statements. 

It might have seemed natural, under these circum- 
stances, and more courteous to speak highly of the 
Turks, but the historian must conscientiously adhere 
to facts and reject all inducements to misrepresent. 

I have been led by duty, inclination and by cordial 
sympathy with the oppressed masses under the Ot- 
toman yoke, to publish this book, and thus to 
familiarize the English speaking people with the 
annals of the beautiful Orient, and with the various 
phases of the rapidly impending crisis in Turkey. 

Alexander W. Hidden. 

New York, Nov. 20, 1895. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAGE, 

Sultan Osman I. 4 

A Turkish Lady 5 

Sultan Orchan 10 

Janizaries 11 

Imperial Tughra 17 

^The Sultan and Two Officials . . .21 
Constantinople . . , . . . 25 

constantine the great 27 

Medal of Sultan Mohammed II. . .45 

^ Roumeli Hissar . 47 

St. Sophia 71 

Constantine Paleologus . . . .74 
Eunuch, Dwarf, Agha . . . .77 

x Egyptian Obelisk 81 

Sultan Selim 1 99 

Janizaries Carrying a Kettle of Soup . 107 

v Janizaries . . . • . . . .119 
Mosque of Sultan Ahmed . . . .81 
Osman II 141 



Vlll 



LIST OF ILLUSTRA 



TIONS. 



PAGE. 



Sultan Murad IV. . . . . .145 

Ali Pasha Tepedelin . . . . .174 

Sultan Selim III. . . . . . . 177 

Sultan Mahmoud II. 183 

The Royal Greek Family . . . .191 
Queen Olga ....... 194 

Kazaz Artin .196 

Coins Beshlik 197 

Warren Hidden 200 

Abdul Medjid 206 

Palace of Dolma-Bagtche . . . .211 

E. Joy Morris 213 

Sultan Abdul Aziz . . . . . . 215 

Sultam Abdul Hamid . . . „ 223 



CONTENTS. 



i. 

OSMAN I., THE CONQUEROR. 

Origin of the Ottomans — Their Exploits Under Ertoghrul in 
Asia Minor — Reign of Osman I. — His Dream — Conquests 
—Death 



II. 

SULTAN ORCHAN. 

Accession of Orchan — Allah-ud-din's Legislation — Organiza- 
tion of the Janizaries — Capture of Nicaea and Nicomidia 
— Descent on Europe — Suleyman Pasha — Death of 
Orchan 



III. 

SULTAN MURAD I. 

Conquest of Thrace and Macedonia — Capture of Angora — 
Adrianople — Defeat of the Servians — The Imperial 
Tnghra or Sultan's Monogram — Annexation of Kirmian 
— Expedition Against Caramania, Bulgaria and Servia — 
Battle of Kossova — Assassination of Murad 



IV. 

SULTAN BAYEZID I. 

Assassination of Yacoub — War with Servia — Battle at Nicopo- 
lis — Conquest in Asia — Constantinople — New Conquests 
in Asia and Greece — Tamerlane — Battle of Angora — 
Death of Bayezid 

V. 

INTERREGNUM OF THE ROYAL PRINCES. 
Suleyman and Musa 



X 



CONTENTS. 



VI. 

SULTAN MOHAMMED I. 

Insurrection of the Princes of Caramania and Smyrna — Naval 
Combat between the Venetians and the Ottomans — War 
with Hungary — Insurrection of Mustafa — Death of Mo- 
hammed 

VII. 

SULTAN MURAD II. 

Release of Mustafa and Djuneid — Seige of Constantinople — 
Submission of Provinces in Asia Minor — Capture of 
Salonica — Hunniades — Resignation of the Sultan — Battle 
at Varna — Revolt of the Janizaries — Expedition to Pelop- 
onnesus — War in Albania — Death of Murad 

VIII. 

SULTAN MOHAMMED II. 

Surnamed " Fatih," the Conqueror. 

The Byzantine Empire — Erection of the Tower of Roumeli 
Hissar — Fall of Constantinople —Death of Constantine 
Paleologus — Expedition of General Tourhan — Siege of 
Belgrade — Death of Hunniades — Capture of Sinope, 
Amassia and Trebizond — Family of Comnenus — Capture 
of Mitylene — War against the Venetians — Iskender Bey 
— Capture of Euboea — Conquest of Caramania — Siege of 
Rhodes — Death of Mohammed 

IX. 

SULTAN BAYEZID II. 

Civil War — Prince Jem — War with Hungary — War with 
Egypt — Relations between Russia and Turkey — Invasion 
of Poland — War with Venice — Siege of Lepanto — Death 
of Bayezid 

X. 

SULTAN SELIM I. 

Surnamed Yavouz. 

Affairs of State — Reception of Foreign Ambassadors — War 
with Russia — Battle of Tchaldiran— Capture of Tauris — 
Conquest of Egypt— Tre ity with Venice — Death of Selim . 



CONTENTS, 



xi 



XI. 

SULTAN SULEYMAN I., THE MAGNIFICENT. 

Hostilities against Hungary — Capture of Belgrade — Siege of 
Rhodes— Revolt in Egypt — Disturbances in Wallachia 
—Expedition against Persia — Battle of Mohacs — Disturb- 
ances in Asia — Siege of Vienna — War with Austria — 
Haerreddin Barbarossa — Destruction of the Spanish 
Fleet — Capture of Nice — Expedition of Zrinyi — Battle of 
Szegedin — Alliance with France — Siege of Malta — Death 
of Suleyman 106 

XII. 

SULTAN SELIM II. 

Disturbances of the Janizaries — Peace with Poland and Aus- 
tria — Conquest of Cyprus — Battle of Lepanto — Death of 
Selim 122 

XIII. 

SULTAN MURAD III. 

Hostilities against Hungary— Commercial Treaties with 
European Powers — Defeat of the Portugese — War with 
Persia — Revolt of the Janizaries — Disturbances in the 
Provinces — War with Bosna and Austria — Death of 
Murad 128 

XIV. 

SULTAN MOHAMMED III. 

War with Wallachia — War with Hungary — Capture of Erlau 
— Battle of Keredje — Surrender of Konieh — French 
Politics — Death of Mohammed 133 

XV. 

SULTAN AHMED I. 

War in Asia and Hungary — Treaty with Austria — Peace of 

Silvatorok — Use of Tobacco — Death of Ahmed 135 

XVI. 

SULTAN MUSTAFA L 
His Character — His Resignation 140 



xii 



CONTENTS, 



XVII. 

SULTAN OSMAN II. 
Amicable Relations with France — Peace with Persia and Po- 



land — Death of Osman 14a 

XVIII. 

SULTAN MUSTAFA I. 

His Re-accession — Disturbances in Asia — Resignation — His 

Death 144 

XIX. 

SULTAN MURAD IV. 

Persian Conquests — Disturbances in Erzeroum and in the 
Crimea — Revolt of the Janizaries — Capture of Erivan and 
Tauris — Capture of Bagdad — Death of Murad 144 



XX. 

SULTAN IBRAHIM I. 

Conquest of the Crimea — War with Venice — Treaty Between 
the Sublime Porte and Candia — Disturbances of the Jani- 
zaries — Death of Ibrahim 148 

XXI. 

SULTAN MOHAMMED IV. 

War with the Venetians — Mehmed Kiuprulu — Rupture Be- 
tween France and the Sublime Porte — Battle of St. 
Gothard — War with Poland and Russia — John Sobieski 
—Treaty of Daout Pasha — War with Hungary — Siege 
of Vienna — Revolution of the Janizaries — Dethronement 



of Mohammed 150 

XXII. 

SULTAN SULEYMAN II. 

Continuation of Hostilities — Mustafa Kiuprulu — Death of 

Suleyman 158 

XXIII. 

SULTAN AHMED II. 

Defeat at Salankeman — Expedition Against Austria — Success 

of the Venetians — Death of Ahmed 158 



CONTENTS. xiii 

XXIV. 

SULTAN MUSTAFA II. 

Victory Near Lugos — Battle Near Zenta — Peace of Carlovitz 

— Kiuprulu Hussein Pasha — Resignation of Mustafa. ... 159 

XXV. 

SULTAN AHMED III, 

War with Russia^Charles XII. in Turkey — Success of the 
Turks — Treaty of the Pruth — Revolt of Montenegrens — 
War with Austria — Peace of Passarovitz — Expedition 
Against Persia — Resignation of Ahmed 161 



XXVI. 

SULTAN MAHMOUD I. 
War with Austria, Persia and Russia — Treaty of Belgrade — 



Maria Theresa — Revolt of Kurds in Constantinople — 
Death of Mahmoud I . 165 

XXVIL 

SULTAN OSMAN III. 

Accession of Osman — Deputies of Austria, Russia and Eng- 
land — Regulation of Clothing — Death of Osman. 170 

XXVIII. 

SULTAN MUSTAFA III. 

War with Russia — Capture of Choczin — Revolt at Pelopon- 
nesus — Battle of Tchesme — Turkish Outrages — Death of 
Mustafa 171 



XXIX. 

SULTAN ABDUL HAMID I. 

Peace of Kainardji — The Re-organization of the Ottoman 
Navy — War with Russia and Austria — Death of Abdul 
Hamid 173 

XXX. 

SULTAN SELIM III. 

Assemblies at Foxanio — Alliance of the Sublime Porte with 
England, Russia and Sweden — Peace of Sistov — Treaty 
of Jassy — Rupture with France — Peace of Paris — Rupture 
with Russia and England — Resignation of Selim 175 



XIV 



CONTENTS. 



XXXI. 

SULTAN MUSTAFA IV. 
Disturbances in Constantinople — Assassination of Mustafa. . . 181 

XXXII. 

SULTAN MAHMOUD II., THE REFORMER. 

War with Russia — The Greek Revolution —Battle of Nava- 
rino — Treaty of Adrianople — Revolt of Mohammed Ali — 
Extinction of the Janizaries — Death of Mahmoud 182 



XXXIII. 

SULTAN ABDUL MEDJID I. 

War with Mohammed Ali Pasha — Crimean War — Treaty of 

Paris— Death of Abdul Medjid 205 



XXXIV. 

SULTAN ABDUL AZIZ I. 

Commercial Treaty with the United States — Insurrection in 
Crete — His Visit to Europe — Opening of the Suez Canal 
—Disturbances in the Danubian Provinces — Decline of 
the Ottoman Empire— Outrages of the Bashi-Bozouks in 
Bulgaria — Dethronement of Abdul Aziz 210 



XXXV. 

SULTAN ABDUL HAMID I. 

War with Russia — Loss of Provinces — Punishment of the 
Assassins of Abdul Aziz — Organization of the New Kur- 
dish Cavalry — Outrages in Armenia — Present Condition 
of Turkey 222 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



I. 

OSMAN I., THE CONQUEROR. 
I 299-I 326. 

The Ottoman Turks, or Osmanlis, are so called 
from Otman or Osman, the founder of the Turkish 
Empire. They are a very ancient race, sprung* from 
Ishmael, son of Hagar, the slave wife of Abraham, 
and, therefore, are the lineal descendants of Shem, 
the eldest son of Noah. 

The founder of this race was Oghuz Khan, who, 
by renouncing his ancestral faith, drew upon himself 
the anger of his father, Kara Khan, thus causing a 
long and bloody conflict between the two, in which 
the son was finally victorious, and with his followers 
settled in Turkestan. 

About the year 1000 A. D., Mahmoud Gazni 
founded the Empire of Gaznevides, and continued 
to extend its boundaries by fire and sword. Multi- 
tudes of Seljukian Turks had gone into Persia and 
Mesopotomia, where they formed four Kingdoms — - 
Bagdad, Damascus, Aleppo and Iconium. Jenghis 
Khan and his followers made large conquests in Asia 
and in Europe, to the frontiers of Germany. Suley- 
man Shah, a Turkish lord, in order to avoid their 
fury, attempted to cross the Euphrates, accompanied 
by his sons, but fell from his horse and was drowned. 
Ertoghrul, the youngest, with his three sons, Condos, 



2 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



Saruhani and Osman, obtained from the Seljukian 
Sultan of Iconium, a settlement on the western bor- 
ders of Armenia. It is related of Ertoghrul that he 
had a weird dream, to the effect that while traveling 
in a foreign land he was hospitably received by a 
hermit. On retiring, .he found a book in his room, 
and asked the hermit what it was. " It is the 
Koran, the word of God," was the reply. After the 
hermit left him, Ertoghrul took the book and passed 
the entire night in reading it. Early the next morn- 
ing, being oppressed by sleep, he closed his eyes and 
heard a heavenly voice saying to him, " As you have 
read with such respect my eternal word, your sons 
and grandsons will be continually honored on earth. " 

The Koran is the book which contains the doctrines of the 
Mohammedan faith, the pretended revelation of the famous im- 
postor Mohammed, a crafty Ishmaelite. He was born in Mecca 
in April, 569 A. D., and in the twelfth year of his age became a 
camel driver in a caravan belonging to his uncle. When twenty 
five years old, he married in Mecca a wealthy widow, forty years 
of age, named Calijah. Mohammed was a man of no education, 
unable even to read or write, and had the assistance of a Jew and 
a treacherous Christian monk in compiling the Koran. Moham- 
med then abandoned his business, and represented to his followers 
that he was taught by the Archangel Gabriel, who had appeared 
to him. His disciples after this increased in such numbers as to 
form a powerful army, at the head of which he started to propa- 
gate this new faith by the sword. His proclamation was that 
there is but one God, and Mohammed is his prophet. A great 
tumult was raised against him in Mecca, and he fled in disguise to 
Medina. This event, called the Hegira, or the Flight, forms the 
Mohammedan Era, corresponding to 622 A. D. He was received 
at Medina, formed a powerful army, and captured the City of 
Mecca about 629 A. D. He fought nine battles, subdued all 
Arabia, extended his conquests to Syria, and after an eventful 
career, died at Medina at the age of sixty-three. The Moham- 
medan religion exists in tradition more than in the Koran, and 
multitudes know but little of it, except in this way. It has for its 
standard, treachery, cruelty and inhuman barbarity ; all who reject 
this creed are called Ghiaours, or infidels. A true Mussulman 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



3 



must make his ablutions and offer his devotions five times a day. 
The ablution before prayer is called in Turkish " Abdest," and the 
prayer itself "Namaz," consisting mostly of genuflexions and pros- 
strations. The five daily prayers are styled, viz.: Sabah-Namaz, 
or morning prayer; Olen-Namaz, or noon prayer; Kendi-Namaz, 
or afternoon prayer; Axam-Namaz, or evening prayer; Guedje- 
Namaz, or night prayer. At the time fixed for each service, the 
Muezzin, or priest, ascends to the minaret, calling at intervals, in a 
melancholy piercing voice, the faithful to prayer. The cry of the 
Muezzin is, "God is great, God is great. There is only one God, 
and Mohammed is his Prophet. Come to prayer, come to salva- 
tion. God is great." The Muezzin's call always summons the 
Mussulmen to their devotions, and it is promptly obeyed, whether 
it finds them at home or in the street. They are wholly indiffer- 
ent to the curious gaze of the passer-by. Their belief is that 
their prayers will not avail if offered in soiled under linen ; they are 
therefore careful to have on clean nether garments before prayer, 
which is always preceded by ablutions. The hands, arms, face, 
ears, mouth, the top of the head, and lastly the feet, are washed. 
If shoes are worn, which are not easily removed, the exterior of 
them must be washed ; when it is not possible to obtain water for 
that purpose, as in the desert, they are allowed to use sand instead. 
The ablutions before prayer are more than custom, they are a 
religious rite, for they who are washed are cleansed from all sin, 
and thus rendered worthy to offer prayer to God. The devout 
Moslems finish their prayers by drawing the palm of the hand 
over tne face. Their belief is that paradise will be for them 
only, where every luxury will be found, and the few sinners who 
may be among them will be sent for a short time to hell, until they 
are cleansed and prepared for heaven, while hell itself is intended 
only for the Giavours or Christians. 

Ertoghrul retired to the rich plains of Sugut, 
where his tomb still exists. His eldest son Otman, 
or Osman, was distinguished during the reign of his 
father for his bravery ; many of the Seljukians de- 
serted their own leaders and joined his standard. 

The Sheikh Edebali, a man of piety and learning, 
removed to Ibourouni, a village near Eski-Shehir, 
and was visited by Osman. One evening he ob- 
tained by accident a sight of the Sheikh's beautiful 
daughter, Malhatoun, a name which signifies "trea- 



4 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



sure of a woman," and asked her father for her hand 
in marriage, but the Sheikh thought that the dis- 
parity of station was too great, and refused his con- 
sent. The prince of Eski-Shehir, while listening to 
Osman on this theme, likewise fell in love with Mal- 
hatoun, without having seen her. The Sheikh re- 
fused him also, and fearing the result, removed from 




Sultan Osman I. Founder of the Ottoman Empire. 



that country. The prince, allying with Michael 
Oxygenius, or Peak-beard, the Greek lord of Khir- 
enkia, a fortified city at the foot of the Phrygian 
Olympus, attacked Osman, but was defeated. 
Michael, being taken prisoner, became Osman's inti- 
mate friend, and was afterwards converted. His 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY, 5 

descendants, called Michael-Oglus, were distin- 
guished for their wealth and power in different 
epochs of the Ottoman history. Sheikh Edebali 
still refused to give his daughter in marriage to 




A Turkish Lady. 

Osman, who one night dreamed that he and the 
Sheikh were sitting together on the ground, while 
the moon, rising from the Sheikh's breast, sank to 
rest on Osman's bosom, then a tree sprang out of his 
breast and gradually covered with its foliage the 



6 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



three continents of Europe, Asia and Africa ; vessels 
were traversing their rivers and seas ; towers, for- 
tresses, minarets, obelisks, pyramids bearing the 
crescent, covered the countries ; then a great wind 
arose in which all the trees turned their leaves 
towards Constantinople. When Osman arose he 
related his dream to the Sheikh, who interpreted it 
to mean that Osman's descendants would be a strong 
race, and would conquer the world. He then con- 
sented to their union. A disciple of the Sheikh, 
Dervish Touroud, officiated at the marriage of 
Osman and Malhatoun. 

When a young Turk wishes to marry, he engages a matrimonial 
negotiator — an old woman, who will frequent the baths to find a 
Turkish lady to answer the requirements and possess the charms 
desired by the prospective bridegroom. When such an one is 
found, she is minutely described, and as is often the case, the 
young man loses his heart over the illusion, and arrangements are 
made to have him see her, even though closely veiled, for which 
purpose she walks out in the street accompanied by the negotiator. 
If the matter comes to a successful termination the old woman is 
paid for her services ; or, in case he has a mother, she will visit her 
friends in search of a suitable wife for her son. After she has 
made a selection, it is reported to her husband, and if he approves 
it, then the mother of the young man invites the girl with the 
worn. en of her own family to the Hamam or Turkish bath, for a 
phys 1 cal examination. When this is completed they go to the 
Halvet or tepidarium, and a rich repast follows, which often lasts 
over two hours ; this ends the ceremony of inspection. Hair, 
other than on the head of a Turkish lady, is considered a blemish, 
and a depilatory ointment is applied while at the bath. This oint- 
ment is made and supplied by the women who have charge of the 
baths, and who attend the ladies during their ablutions. 

The length of the Nikeah or legal marriage ceremonies and festi- 
vities, is governed by the financial condition of the bride. If it is 
her first marriage and she is wealthy, the festivities last one week ; 
but otherwise the wedding takes place on Wednesday and ends on 
Friday; but if she is a widow the ceremony occurs on Sunday and 
the feast continues but one day. To ask a Turk concerning the 
health of his wife is to commit the grossest possible breach of 
etiquette. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



7 



The Turkish law allows every Turk to marry four wives, and to 
have as many slave wives as his purse will permit ; these are called 
Odaliks. He may also dismiss at pleasure any one of his legal 
wives, four times ; and he can again marry either of them legally 
four times, but after this should he wish to marry her, it is neces- 
sary that she should meanwhile have been married to, and divorced 
from another husband, in order that this fifth marriage may be 
legal. If a child is born soon after a woxan is divorced, the hus- 
band is required to maintain both of them for several years. 
There is no discrimination between the children of a wife or a 
slave ; they have equal rights. Infanticide is never punished in 
Turkey. 

When Osman became an independent prince, he 
fulfilled his promise to build for the dervish who 
officiated at his marriage, a convent, richly endowed 
with villages and lands, and which remained for 
centuries in the possession of the family of Touroud. 
In 1288 A. D., Ertoghrul died of old age. Osman 
grieved for his father, but his sorrow was mitigated 
with joy at the birth of his son, Orchan. In 1289 
Osman subdued the fort Kara Hissar, and was hon- 
ored by Sultan Allah-ud-din of Seljuk's race, with 
the title of Emir, or descendant of the prophet, 
and he was distinguished by wearing a turban of 
deep sea-green, the color peculiar to all the race of 
Mohammed. 

The Turkish government is a hereditary monarchy. The Sultan, 
called also Padishah, is an absolute despot, and claims to be a 
representative of the prophet Mohammed. He delegates his spiri- 
tual power to the Skeikh-ul-Islam, who, next to him, is the highest 
Mohammedan officer. He is also the head of the clergy, viz.: 
Imams, or chaplains; Ulemas, or teachers of law and religion; 
and Softas, or students of divinity, all of whom enjoy many privi- 
leges, being the supporters of Mohammedanism, and promoters of 
bigotry and fanaticism ; in this respect they are worse than the 
rest of the people. These all wear white turbans ; the lineal de- 
scendants of Mohammed, the prophet, alone are allowed to wear 
green. The Sultan also delegates his power to the grand vizir, 



8 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



who is the highest officer of the dominion. The governors of the 
provinces, and the higher officers of the government, are called 
Pashas; the lives ot many of them, however, were formerly ended 
by the bowstring. The supreme court of Turkey is called the 
Sublime Porte ; the Divan is the greatest council of the nation. 

During this period the first coin was struck bear- 
ing Sultan Osman's profile. The Sultan having 
Michael Oglu as an intimate adviser and fellow 
soldier, had subdued the neighboring Greek prov- 
inces, and their governors being indignant formed 
a plot against Osman, planning to carry it out on 
the day appointed for the marriage of the governor 
of Bilejik. They invited Michael-Oglu to join them, 
but he betrayed their plans to the Sultan. After 
taking this fort, Osman marched against Nicaea and 
subdued it. He continued his conquests, made 
Yenishehir his headquarters, and from thence 
planned an assault on Brusa ; after many victories 
in Asia Minor he retired to Yenishehir in conse- 
quence of the disease of his feet. 

In 1326 his son Orchan subdued Brusa with great 
inhumanity. Sultan Osman hearing of this capture 
died contented, directing that his^urial should take 
place in that city, which had been made the capital 
of his dominion. Osman was born in 1258 in the 
City of Sugut, and his sword is still preserved in 
Constantinople. He was a brave warrior, an excel- 
lent diplomat, and a cruel Sultan, having killed with 
his arrow his venerable uncle Dunbar. His dress 
consisted of a braided coat, a white turban with 
feathers over which was a red pointed cap ; his 
limbs were unusually long, he had a prominent nose, 
black hair and beard and a swarthy hue, which 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



9 



color is considered by the Asiatics as an excellent 
omen, especially for those of royal blood. Osman 
belonged to the Seljukian dynasty, and in 1300 be- 
came an independent sovereign. He died at the age 
of seventy, having reigned twenty-six years, leaving 
two sons, Allah-ud-din and Orchan, his successors. 



II. 

SULTAN ORCHAN, THE CONQUEROR. 
1326-1359, 

Sultan Orchan succeeded to the throne just after 
the capture of Brusa. Upon assuming the reins of 
the government, he determined to share the sov- 
ereignty with his brother Allah-ud-din, who being a 
prudent man refused the offer, saying it would de- 
stroy the unity of Orchan's dcminiun ; and that he 
only desired a village on the plains of Brusa as a 
residence. Orchan valuing his brother's knowledge, 
appointed him grand vizir. Allah-ud-din was not 
an expert in warlike affairs, and turned his attention 
to the internal improvement of the dominion, intro- 
ducing a new code of written laws, arm^v regulations 
and coinage, while Sultan Orchan pursued a career 
of conquest, capturing, among others, the renowned 
fortresses of Aidos and Semendria, the latter of which 
was taken in the following manner : The son of its 
governor having died, a gate of the castle was opened 



IO 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



for the burial, when the Turks under the command of 
Aktsa-Hodja rushed in and captured the fortress. The 
tomb of Aktsa-Hodja is still preserved as a shrine. 
Aidos was besieged by Conuralp and Ghazi Abdurah- 
man. It resisted strongly, but the governor's daughter 
saw Abdurahman from the ramparts of the fortress, 
and wishing to assist him, threw out a letter tied to 




Sultan Orchan. 



a stone showing him how to enter the fortress during 
the night. Sultan Orchan being informed of this 
event, permitted Abdurahman to marry the girl, and 
their son Kara-Abdurahman, was distinguished in 
many conflicts. In 1326 Nicodemia was conquered, 
and this completed the entire conquest of Bithynia 
by the Ottomans. 



JANIZARIFS. 

Tchouhadar or Footman of the Grand Vizir. 

Divan Tchaoushi or Usher of the Divan. 

Yassakdji or Body-guard of the Foreign Ambassadors. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



13 



In the reign of Sultan Orchan, the Janizaries or 
new troops were organized by the advice of Kara- 
Halil-Tchendereli, then Kadi-ul-Asker or judge of 
the army. He urged Allah-ud-din and the Sultan to 
organize regiments of Christian children, who, having 
been in slavery, would readily submit to their officers, 
and prove more faithful to their masters than the 
Turcomans, who could not be easily controlled. 
This cruel and most inhuman proposition was ac_ 
cepted, and one thousand Greek boys of perfect form 
and features, from seven years of age and upwards, 
were torn from their parents, converted to Islamism, 
drilled, and thus this famous corps was formed. 
Their emblems, devices, and the titles of their officers 
were given according to their rank. For instance, 
their commander was named Tchorbadji or Broth- 
distributor ; the other officers were the Ahtchi-Bassi 
or chief cook, the Saka-Bassi or water bearer and so 
forth. The kitchen kettles of Orta belonged to the 
regiment, which gave the signal to revolt by turning 
them upside down ; the Odjak or fireplace in their 
barracks was a sacred asylum. This famous corps 
was exterminated by Sultan Mahmoud II. 

It is customary for the Mussulmen to kidnap Christian children 
and compel them to embrace Islamism, in which they are protected 
by the authorities. 

Besides the Janizaries, the Ottoman army con- 
sisted of regular and irregular piade or infantry, 
several squadrons of horse guards named Sipahis, a 
corps of irregular cavalry called Akindji or raiders, 
none of whom were paid but lived on plunder. 
Sultan Orchan continued his conquests, and directing 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



his victorious arms against the Byzantine army, de- 
feated Emperor Andronicus near Pelekan or Maltepe 
in 1330; he then proceeded to Nicaea which the 
Byzantine Emperor had previously retaken, laid 
siege to it ; its inhabitants, not receiving assistance 
from Constantinople, were finally compelled to yield. 
Suleyman, the son of Orchan, took the command of 
Nicaea, and Murad that of Brusa. Shortly after the 
grand vizir Allah-ud-din, the brother of Sultan 
Orchan, died and was succeeded by Suleyman, the 
oldest son of the latter, who being more of a warrior 
than a ruler, engaged in conquests. His father, Sultan 
Orchan, after many victories in Asia Minor, retired 
and devoted the remainder of his reign to the im- 
provement and embellishment of Brusa. 

The Byzantine Emperors were engaged in con- 
stant internal quarrels, and in order to retain the 
friendship of the Sultan, John Catacuzenus, the 
reigning sovereign in 1347, gave one of his daughters, 
the young princess Theodora, in marriage to Sultan 
Orchan, then sixty years of age. Her son, Halil, was 
captured in Nicomedia by pirates, and ransomed by 
John Paleologus I. for a large sum of money. Theo- 
dora was as wise as she was beautiful, and by her 
sagacity and good conduct obtained the esteem and 
affection of her husband and the Ottoman people. 

Sultan Orchan's son, Suleyman, finding an induce 
ment, and intending to assist Catacuzenus against 
his son-in-law, John Paleologus L, crossed the Hel- 
lespont and arrived at the European coast, where he 
subdued Gallipoli and other Thracian cities in 1357. 

Suleyman Pasha, while engaged one day in the 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



'5 



favorite Turkish sport of falconry, accidentally fell 
from his horse and was killed in 1359, near a river 
in Thrace. Sultan Orchan, upon hearing of his son's 
death, died of excessive grief at the age of 75. 

He had three sons, the deceased Suleyman, Halil 
and Murad who succeeded him. Orchan was a brave 
man and a promoter of education and religion. He 
resembled his father only in his prominent nose 
and black eyebrows. His complexion was beautiful ; 
he had fair hair, bright eyes, a broad forehead, a tall 
figure, reddish face, thick mustaches and beard, and 
a robust constitution. During his reign, the title 
Pasha, which is composed of two Persian words, Pai 
and Shall, signifying foot of the Shah, was used for 
the first time, being given to his brother Allah-ud- 
din and to his son Suleyman. 



III. 

SULTAN MURAD I. 
I359-I389- 

Sultan Murad I. was born in 1348, and succeeded 
his father at the age of twelve. He found a disciplined 
army, good laws, loyal governors and people. His 
wish was to extend his dominion over Thrace and 
Macedonia, but finding that the prince of Caramania 
and the chief of Angora had united in a revolt 
against the Ottoman Power, Sultan Murad took the 
control of his army, defeated them and captured 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



Angora. He went to Brusa, appointed Kara Halil 
Tchenderli, a connection of the royal house by mar- 
riage, governor of that city ; then crossed the Hel- 
lespont and captured all the coast cities of Thrace. 

In 1 361 Sultan Murad obtained possession of 
Adrianople, the second city of the Byzantine Empire, 
which became the capital of the Ottomans. Pushing 
his conquest towards Macedonia and the Hemas, 
Murad took Sagre and Philippopolis, the governor 
of which had fled to Servia. In the year 1363 
Uropis V., the king of Servia, the king of Hungary, 
the princes of Bosnia, Wallachia and Bulgaria, were 
induced by Pope Urban V. to unite in an effort to 
drive the Ottomans out of Europe. Lalashahin, the 
Ottoman commander, suspecting the movement of 
the allied armies, double in number, which had 
crossed the river Marizza, resolved to attack them 
suddenly by night. The Christians, assured of vic- 
tory, neglected all military precautions. The Turks 
made the assault and pursued them until they 
plunged into the Marizza and perished in its waters ; 
the plain where the combat took place is called 
" Sirf Sindughi " or Serb's rout. 

In 1365 the Imperial " Tughra " was used for the 
first time. It was signed on the top of the com- 
mercial treaty, which Murad concluded with the 
City of Ragusa, compelling its inhabitants to make 
an annual payment of 500 golden ducats to him. 

The Tughra is the signature which Sultan Murad made with the 
palm of his hand smeared with ink from lack of a pen. It is used 
after the manner of eastern seals ; and since then, has appeared on 
the coins, and at the top of all official documents of the Turkish 
government. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



17 



Sultan Murad remained at Brusa to celebrate the 
sounet or circumcision of his three sons, Bayezid, 
Yacoub, and Saoudji, and then removed to Adrian- 
ople. 

The sounet or circumcision among the Turks, is a religious rite. 
Every son, if a healthy child, must be circumcised when he is three 
years old, but if his health does not permit of so severe an opera- 
tion, it is postponed until his tenth year. In any case, however, the 
ceremony is always attended by great feasting and merry making. 

In 1369 the Sultan appointed Kara Halil Tchen- 
dereli grand vizir, who died in 1386 in his 90th year, 
after 18 years of faithful service. 




Tughra or Monogram of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. 



In 1 381, the Ottomans marching up to Hemos, sub- 
dued the Bulgarian principality Kustendje, and the 
towns Salonica, Vitoiia, Cavala, Seres, Drama ; also 
Nissa, a strong city of Servia, taken after a siege of 
twenty-five days. After these victories, peace was 
declared between the King of Servia, the Prince ot 
Bulgaria and the Sultan of Turkey, with conditions 
of taxation. Prince Shisman of Bulgaria, however. 



i8 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



preferred to obtain peace by giving his daughter in 
marriage to the conqueror, instead of the payment 
of money. 

The Bulgarians are an ancient Slavonic people and settled about 
450 A. D. on the Balkan Peninsula. They were converted to 
Christianity about 840 A. D. by two celebrated Monks, Cyrillus and 
Methodius of Salonica. 

This peace lasted six years ; during which period 
Sultan Murad re-organized his army, dividing it into 
regiments, and fixing the colors of their flags which 
were, crimson, green and red. Wishing to extend 
his Empire, he asked for the daughter of the Prince 
of Kermian, in Asia Minor, in marriage for his eldest 
son Bayezid, and sent a large delegation with valu- 
able gifts. The bride in return brought as her 
dowry much treasure, and the keys of four cities ; 
the wedding was celebrated at Brusa, and was at- 
tended by the representatives of different countries, 
who brought Greek slave girls, as gifts to the 
Sultan. 

Prince Saoudji, a son of Murad, with the son of 
Emperor John V., formed a plot against the Sultan, 
aided by a small band of Turks, and of young Greek 
nobles. Sultan Murad was indignant at this, and 
with John decided that their sons if taken prisoners, 
should lose their eyes ; Saoudji and Andronicus were 
defeated and taken prisoners at Didimotico in 1385. 
Instantly, Sultan Murad put out the eyes of his son 
and beheaded him, two or three of the young Greek 
nobles were tied together at a time, and thrown into 
the river Marizza, while he smiled with grim satis- 
faction at the rapidity with which they sank be- 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



19 



neath its waters. He compelled the fathers of some 
of the youthful revolters, to kill their sons with their 
own hands, except two who refused to obey the hor- 
rible order, for which they were instantly slain. 
After this, Sultan Murad sent Andronicus in chains 
to his father, with the message that he should esti- 
mate the fidelity of the Greek Emperor by the pun- 
ishment inflicted upon his son. John V. was cruel 
and cowardly, and destroyed not only the eyesight 
of his son Andronicus, but also of his grandson John, 
a child five years old. The executioners, either in 
mercy or from incapacity, did not complete their 
horrible task ; and the boiling vinegar destroyed 
only one eye of Andronicus, and left his little son 
with a distorted and imperfect vision. 

In 1 38 1, Salonica, which had been previously taken 
by the allied forces of the Venetians and Byzantines, 
was recaptured by the Turks. The Prince of Cara- 
mania was jealous of the increasing power of the 
Ottomans, and in 1387, he declared war against Sul- 
tan Murad, and captured several towns ; but seeing the 
strong army of his enemy near Iconium, he proposed 
peace. The grand vizir rejected his proposition, at- 
tacked and defeated him. Meanwhile, the Sultan 
besieged Iconium, during which the Prince of Cara- 
mania sent his wife Nefize Hanoum, daughter of 
Murad, to intercede for him. The Sultan accepted 
her plea, on condition that her husband should ap- 
pear in person to ask his pardon and kiss his hand 
in submission, which was done. 

Sultan Murad marched against the Servians and 
Bulgarians, who had disturbed the Ottoman posses- 



20 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



sions in Thrace and Macedonia, by frequent incur- 
sions, arrived at Yenishehir, and celebrated there 
the marriages of his two sons, Bayezid and Yacoub, 
with the Byzantine princesses, and the circumcision 
of his three grandchildren, sons of Bayezid by an- 
other wife. 

After this, the grand vizir Ali Pasha, with an army 
of 30,000, marched against prince Shisman of Bul- 
garia. On the way thither he captured Shumla and 
Tirnova, and besieged Nicopolis. Shisman surren- 
dered to Ali Pasha, and was carried prisoner into 
the presence of Sultan Murad, who pardoned him, 
on condition that Silistria should be given up. 
Shisman acceded to these terms, but broke his 
promise and was defeated again by Ali Pasha, in 
1387, and was taken for the second time in fetters to 
Sultan Murad, who once more pardoned him ; thus 
Bulgaria was annexed to the Ottoman Empire. 

Lazarus, King of Servia, fearing the progress of 
the Ottomans, declared war ngainst them ; Sultan 
Murad summoned his sons Bayezid and Yacoub, 
from Asia, and with the generals Ali Pasha and 
Evrinos Bey, marched against Servia; he encamped 
on the plains of Kossova by the banks of the river 
Shinitza, where both forces met. A dreadful con- 
flict ensued, in which the Servians w r ere signally de- 
feated. A Servian noble, Milos Kambilovitch, pre- 
tending to be a deserter, with important secrets to 
reveal to the Sultan, was allowed to enter the Impe- 
rial tent, and kneeling in homage before Murad, 
stabbed him ; the Sultan as he was dying ordered 
the execution of King Lazarus The assassin was 



2 3 

Sultan. 

Minister of the Interior. 

Grand Visir.— In Ancient Costume. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



23 



seized and killed by the Janizaries on the spot. 
Murad was interred in the mosque built by him in 
Brusa. In the battle of Kossova, cannons which had 
recently been invented in Europe, were first used by 
the Turks. Sultan Murad was assassinated in 1389, 
at the age of forty-one, after a reign of twenty-nine 
years, and was succeeded by his son Bayezid, sur- 
named Yildirim or Thunderbolt, whose rapidity of 
action justified the title. 

IV. 

SULTAN BAYEZID I. 
1 389-1402. 

Sultan Bayezid, surnamed Yildirim or Thunder- 
bolt, was born in 1359, and succeeded his father at 
the age of thirty. Immediately after his accession 
he ordered his brother, Yacoub, to be put to death. 

The murder of all princes of royal blood henceforth became the \ 
safeguard of the Ottoman dynasty, for according to Sadeddin, the 
Turkish historian, the Sultan, "is the shadow of God upon earth, 
and as the lord of all true believers, must reign in conformity with 
the divine example and without any possibility of other claimant." 
On this account all princes are usually kept in strict seclusion in 
the Palace. The heir of the Sultan, according to the Ottoman 
law, must b his oldest male relative, whether uncle, brother or 
nephew, and not his eldest son as in Europe. 

In the early part of Bayezid's reign he waged a 
successful war against Servia, and compelled King 
Stephen Lazarevitch to sign a treaty, by which 
Servia became the vassal of the Ottomans. Lazare- 
vitch then gave the Sultan his sister in marriage, 
and promised to render personal military service in 
all his campaigns. 



24 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



In 1390 he marched against Wallachia, Bosnia and 
Hungary ; the Wallachians submitted in 1391 ; but 
the Bosnians, assisted by the Hungarians, resisted for 
a longer time. Sigismund, the King of Hungary, 
with his French, Italian, German and Croatian allies, 
crossed the Danube, and a terrible conflict ensued 
in 1396, at Nicopolis. The French when in sight of 
the Turks advanced at once, showing great bravery, 
mowing down the enemy like a machine, but finally 
they were overpowered by the great number of 
Ottomans ; some were butchered on the spot, others, 
both of the French and of the allies, were taken 
slaves, and with a few exceptions were most cruelly 
executed the next morning in the presence of Sultan 
Bayezid. Among those who were spared, were 
several French nobles, who were ransomed after a 
long time; also a youth from Munich named Schild- 
berger, an attendant to a Bavarian nobleman who 
had fallen in the battle. He was saved by the inter- 
cession of Bayezid's son, returned to his native land 
after thirty-four years of captivity, and gives a pain- 
ful description of the massacre of his comrades by 
the Janizaries, at that time (See history of the 
Ottoman Turks, by E. S. Creasy, p. 39.) Addi- 
tional facts in regard to the barbarity of Bayezid 
can be found also in Creasy's history, p. 42. 

Shortly after this Sultan Bayezid subdued, and 
annexed to his dominions, Tokat, Sivas, Kastamoni, 
Sinope and Samsoun ; and advancing to the Thracian 
Bosphorus, he marched against Constantinople, with 
an army of four thousand infantry and six thousand 
cavalry, rescued the half-blinded prince Andronicus, 



T TO MA N D YXA S T V. 



who was confined in the palace of Vlacherena, and 
enthroned him, while the Emperor John Paleologus 
was deposed, and with his son Emmanuel was im- 
prisoned in a tower on the Thracian coast. The 
guards of this tower being Bulgarians, allowed the 
prisoners to escape. They went to Asia and im- 









mi 




















Constantinople. 

plored the assistance of Sultan Bavezid who com- 
plied on condition that John Paleologus would pay 
the tax which had been promised by his son 
Andronicus to the Sultan, and also supply him 
annually with 12000 infantry and cavalry. The 
Emperor accepted these terms, and the Sultan dis- 



26 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



patched messengers to Constantinople to ascertain 
which of the two Emperors the inhabitants wished 
to have on the Byzantine throne, and they selected 
John Paleologus. Bayezid compelled Andronicus 
to abdicate, and to relinquish Silivria, Hereglia, 
Rodosto and Salonica, after which John Paleologus 
ascended the throne of Constantinople. 

After the death of the Emperor John, his son 
Emmanuel, who had been kept as a hostage at 
Brusa, fled to Constantinople, where he was pro- 
claimed Emperor ; the Sultan was enraged at this, 
and ordered him to abdicate, but he refused, and the 
Sultan besieged that city. 

Constantinople, the present capital of the Ottoman Empire, was 
called Byzantium from Byzas, who founded it in 658 B. C. It is 
shaped like a triangle, and was enlarged by Constantine the Great, 
who removed the seat of the Empire from Rome to Byzantium in 
330 A. D. It has the finest site in Europe, and is situated on a 
promontory of seven hills, each one of which is crowned by a mag- 
nificent mosque. On one side it has the Propontis, or Sea of 
Marmora, and on the other the harbor of the Golden Horn ; it lies 
at the mouth of the Thracian Bosphorous, and with its surburbs 
forms a magnificent city, presenting a beautiful view from the sea. 
The harbor of Constantinople is sufficiently deep to float ships 
of the largest size, and is safe and commodious. It has a salubrious 
climate, its location gives it the finest commercial advantages in the 
world, being connected by railway with every part of Europe. It 
is thoroughly cosmopolitan in population and religion and is a 
city of wonderful possibilities. In addition to this, its historic 
records of horrible cruelty and oppression have been seldom 
equalled. 

It was taken by the Crusaders in 1204 and retained until 1261, 
when it again came under the power of the Greek Emperors. It 
was taken by the Turks in 1453, and with its capture ended the 
Greek or Eastern Empire. 

During the long siege of Constantinople, its inhab- 
itants suffered greatly from famine, and finally they 
bribed the Grand Vizir Ali Pasha, who withdrew 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



27 



his forces, and compelled Emmanuel to abdicate in 
favor of his nephew John, the regent of Silivria. 
An alliance was made, between the Emperor and the 
Sultan, by which it was agreed that John should 
allow a Kadi, or Moslem Judge in Constantinople ; 
also erect a mosque within its limits, and pay to the 
Sultan an annual tribute of ten thousand ducats. 

The Byzantine Empire being thus humiliated, 
General Timourtas continued his conquests as far 




Constantine the Great. ( Enlarged from a coin.) 



as Bagdad ; while the Sultan, with the assistance of 
his generals Eyrinos and Yacoub, led the enemy 
against Greece in 1397. He conquered Macedonia 
and Thessaly, crossed the strait of Thermopylae, 
captured Athens, and finally subdued the whole 



28 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



Peloponnesus. In 1400, Sultan , Bayezid, after a 
series of successful conquests, retired to Brusa, and 
abandoned himself for a time to luxury, intoxication 
and sensual exesses of the foulest description 

Besides Constantinople, no other possessions were 
left to the Byzantine Emperor. On the Asiatic 
coast of the Bosphorus, Sultan Bayezid erected a 
castle, still preserved, called Anadolu Hissar or 
Anatolia Castle. He then resolved to conquer 
Constantinople, and sent a message to the Emperor 
John, ordering him to abandon the capital and select 
instead a province. The Emperor refused this de- 
mand and the Sultan , formed the project to attack 
Constantinople ; but he was compelled to defer it 
in order to defend himself against the encroach- 
ments of that great warrior, Tamerlane of Tartary, 
who invaded his dominions. The two mighty chiefs 
met on the plains of Angora, in the spring of 1402, 
where one of the most sanguinary battles recorded 
in history was fought. The Turkish army consisted 
of 150,000 men, while that of Tamerlane was greater 
in number. Sultan Bayezid being defeated, fell into 
the hands of Tamerlane, who put him into an iron 
cage and carried him about as a show. He died of 
grief and despair on March 21, 1403, eight months 
after his capture, at the age of forty-four. 

Tamerlane sacked the Turkish cities of Brusa, 
Nicaea, Khemlik, Akshehir, Kara Hissar, and others 
in Asia Minor, and finally took the city of Smyrna, 
then held by the Christian Knights of St. John of 
J erusalem, and ordered a general massacre of its in- 
habitants without mercy to either age or sex. He 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



2 9 



was one of the most cruel conquerors of that epoch, 
having buried alive thousands of Christian warriors 
in Asia, after fastening their heads under their legs. 
(See Creasy's History, p. 46.) 



V. 

INTERREGNUM OF THE ROYAL PRINCES. 
1402-1413. 

The reign of Sultan Bayezid I. was followed by a 
period of eleven years, called The Great Interreg- 
num. This consisted of a series of contentions be- 
tween his six sons, Suleyman, Musa, Ertoghrul, 
Mohammed, Issa, and Kassim. Ertoghrul was killed 
by Tamerlane during the siege of Sivas ; Kassim was 
very young ; the other three, Suleyman, Mohammed 
and Issa, escaped from the battlefield of Angora, 
while Musa was taken prisoner, Suleyman, with the 
grand vizir, Ali Pasha, and the chieftains of the 
Janizaries, reached Adrianople by way of Con- 
stantinople, at which place he had formed a 
matrimonial alliance with the daughter of the 
Emperor. Mohammed being almost eighteen years 
of age, succeeded in escaping to the castle of Amas- 
sia with General Bayezid, where they defended 
themselves against the troops of Tamerlane. The 
Ottomans of Asia Minor went to the assistance of 
Mohammed, who, without loss of time, put himself 
at the head of a strong army, regained several of his 
father's provinces which had been captured by 



30 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



Tamerlane. Issa, who had escaped to Brusa, en- 
deavored to be proclaimed Sultan of the East, and 
made a treaty with the Emperor of Constantinople ; 
this angered Mohammed, who attacked and defeated 
him. Issa fled to Europe, but being advised by his 
brother Suleyman, returned to Asia, and having 
organized an army, marched against Mohammed, 
but he was again defeated and escaped to Mount 
Taurus, w T here he died. Suleyman, after several 
contests with his brother Mohammed, proclaimed 
himself Sultan at Brusa. Subsequent to this, Musa, 
who had been kept in captivity by Tamerlane, was 
liberated and took his father's corpse to Brusa, 
where it was interred in the mausoleum of his 
predecessors. 

On the first day of February, 1405, Tamerlane 
died at Otrar, at the age of seventy-one, while on 
the march to China, leaving thirty-six sons and 
grandsons. 

Meanwhile Musa collected an army of Bulgarians 
and Servians, took the field against his brother 
Suleyman, but was defeated and fled to the moun- 
tains of the Balkan. 

Musa, again, with another army besieged Adrian- 
ople in 1410. When this intelligence was carried to 
Suleyman he disbelieved it, and becoming indignant 
with the chieftain of the Janizaries for not agreeing 
with his plans, ordered his beard to be shaved off. 
This rash act, committed in the presence of the 
Janizaries, excited their indignation and proved fatal 
to Suleyman, for they opened the gates of Adrianople 
and delivered the city to Musa. Suleyman endeavored 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



31 



to escape to Constantinople but was killed by the 
Janizaries. This prince is known as the first pro- 
tector of the Ottoman poets, and, according to the 
historian Franzis, he married the daughter of Theo- 
doras, brother of the Emperor Emmanuel Paleologus, 
while his brother Kassim received a Greek education 
in Constantinople and at the end of his life was bapt- 
ized a Christian, receiving the name Demetrius. 
Orchan, the son of Suleyman, fearing his uncle Musa, 
fled with his sister to Constantinople. Subsequent 
to this, Musa declared war against the Emperor of 
Constantinople and laid siege to that city. The 
Emperor Emmanuel then implored the assistance of 
Mohammed, w r ho was in Asia, and Musa was com- 
pelled to return without accomplishing his object. 
Mohammed made another effort to regain his father's 
throne, and at the head of an army met his brother 
near the Balkan and defeated him. 

Musa fled to Wallachia, but on the following day 
his corpse was found in a miry place, where he had 
evidently met with a tragical end. This occurred in 
141 3. Of the faithful generals of Musa, Azab Bey 
also fled to Wallachia, Michaloglu was sent prisoner 
to Asia and Bidridin Simavnaoglu, being a skilful 
soldier, was pardoned and re-appointed general in 
the Ottoman army ; thus Mohammed, the only living 
brother, was proclaimed Sultan of the Ottomans. 



VI. 

SULTAN MOHAMMED I., "THE GENTLEMAN." 
1413-1421. 

Mohammed L, surnamed Tchelebi, or Gentleman, 
succeeded to the throne in 141 3. He possessed great 
abilities as a statesman and as a warrior. He was 
remarkable in appearance, well proportioned, with 
great physical strength. On his accession to the 
throne he made an alliance with the Byzantine Em- 
peror, and received the congratulations of the 
ambassadors of Hungary, Servia, Bulgaria, Venice, 
Ragusa, Yanina, and others, with promise of universal 
peace. He then turned his attention to quelling the 
disturbances in his dominion, caused by the quarrels 
during the previous reign of his brothers Musa and 
Mohammed ; then crossed to Asia to punish the 
revolting princes of Caramania and Smyrna. Mean- 
while the prince of Caramania had attempted to 
capture Brusa but did not succeed, and Mohammed 
not meeting him attacked and captured Pergamus. 
After this the Sultan besieged Smyrna, and its ruler, 
Prince Djuneid, sent his mother, wife and children 
to implore the pardon of Mohammed, which was 
readily granted. He then entered the city and 
ordered its walls and towers to be destroyed. 

Sultan Mohammed made Alexander Shisman, son 
of the Servain King Lazarus, ruler of Smyrna, and 
then subdued the fortresses of Caramania and 
Konieh, compelling the prince to conclude a treaty 
of peace in 1414. Soon after this the prince broke 
the treaty, marched against the Sultan, but the 

3 2 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



33 



grand vizir defeated him and captured his son 
Mustafa. The Sultan liked the young man and 
promised that he would restore to him the subdued 
castles, but Mustafa after his departure violated his 
promise of obedience and captured ^ flock of horses 
belonging to the Ottomans. Mohammed hearing of 
this, marched against him ; subdued Konieh, while 
the prince of Caramania fled to Kilikia, and his son 
Mustafa was for the second time pardoned by the 
Sultan, and signed a treaty by which Konieh was 
annexed to the Ottoman dominion. 

On the 29th of May, 141 6, a naval battle took place 
off Gallipoli in which the Ottoman fleet under the 
admiral Tzali Bey, was completely defeated by the 
Venetian admiral Pietro Loredano. The Sultan's 
troops also met with reverses in the expedition 
against Styria and Hungary, between 1416 and 1420. 

About this time, the Sultan erected the Castle of 
Giurgevo, and afterward crossed to Asia, conquered 
Izvendiar, the despot of Sinope, taking his son as a 
hostage, and captured several Tartar cities. In the 
same epoch, a Tartar tribe emigrated to Europe, 
settled near Philippopolis, and called the place 
Tartarpazardjik. 

Simavnaoglu, who was at Nicaea, determined to 
revolt against the Sultan, and to introduce another 
faith, having as a co-operator, a rude Turcoman of 
low birth surnamed Boreklidje-Mustafa, proclaiming 
him a spiritual father and ordered him to spread 
this new dogma. Mohammed ordered Shisman to 
march against the heretics, but he was killed in the 
engagement, the same fate also followed the new 



34 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



governor of Saruhan. Murad, the son of the Sultan, 
was appointed the governor of Amassia, and 
marched against the heretics, having with him as 
adviser and commander of the army his faithful 
grand vizir, gayezid. Boreklidje Mustafa, sur- 
named also "Dede Sultan," with an army of 10,000, 
met Murad in battle, and after a sanguinary combat 
he was captured and sent to Ephesus, and on his 
refusal to abandon his new dogma, he was beheaded 
with some of his followers. The others escaped and 
uniting with Simavnaoglu, went to Macedonia to 
propagate the new sect. Prince Murad with 
Bayezid Pasha went to Europe, met Bidredin 
Simavnaoglu near Seres, captured and executed 
him. This outbreak was scarcely suppressed, when 
another revolution of a political character broke out. 
A man appeared pretending to be Mustafa, the son of 
Sultan Bayezid, while others characterized him as 
an imposter. This rival to the throne, allying him- 
self with the princes of Wallachia, Smyrna, and the 
sons of Generals Timourtas and Evrinos, took the 
field against Sultan Mohammed who defeated them 
near Salonica : Mohammed demanded the surrender 
of the fugitives, but Demetrius Leondarius, governor 
of that city, refused to give them up without the 
consent of Emmanuel Paleologus, who replied that he 
could not violate the sacredness of asylum. The 
Sultan then insisted that the Emperor should sign a 
decree, condemning them to imprisonment for life, 
to which he consented through the influence of, 
Theodorus Korakos, the dragoman of the Emperor 
and they were sent to the island of Limnos where 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



35 



they were closely confined in the convent of the 
Holy Virgin. Sultan Mohammed soon after visited 
the Emperor Emmanuel and was met by Demetrius 
Leondarius, Catacuzinus and others, bearing royal 
gifts ; then he crossed to Scutari accompanied by 
the Emperor Paleologus and his son, thence went to 
Ismidt. 

In the spring of 142 1, the Sultan passed through 
Gallipoli to Adrianople. Three days after his arrival 
he had a stroke of apoplexy, and fell from his horse; 
foreseeing his end, he ordered the grand vizir to 
conceal his death until after the arrival of his son. 
The grand vizir Bayezid, an Albanian by race, sent 
a messenger to Prince Murad at Amassia inviting 
him to Adrianople, meanwhile he conducted the 
affairs of the Empire, until the arrival of Murad at 
Brusa when he was proclaimed Sultan. The corpse 
of Mohammed was transported to Brusa, where he 
was buried in the mausoleum which he had erected 
near the celebrated Green Mosque. 

The reign of Sultan Mohammed was remarkable 
for many brilliant achievements. He erected fine 
edifices and completed at Brusa the magnificent 
mosque which was commenced during the reign of 
his grandfather Murad; he also finished the mosque 
which his brothers Suleyman and Musa began to 
build in Adrianople. 

Sultan Mohammed inaugurated the custom of 
carrying rich presents to Mecca, which exists until 
the present day and is called Sourrei Houmayoun 
or Imperial Presents. 

Sourrei Houmayoun, is an annual expedition bearing Imperial 
gifts to Mecca, commenced by Mohammed I., in 1420. This 
Sourre is a . sacred caravan, consisting of Arabs carrying drums 



36 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



and sticks, which they use by striking them together, making a 
horrible noise, then follow the camels covered with richly em- 
broidered green cloth, accompanied by several mules covered with 
red, carrying the Imperial presents. In addition to these, other 
rich offerings are made by the Ottomans of the wealthier class, 
consisting of money, and of valuable articles. This Sourre, pro- 
ceeds to the palace, is inspected by the Sultan, and a letter from 
his Majesty, addressed to the Emir of Mecca, is entrusted to the 
Sourre Emini or leader of the sacred caravan. The procession 
starts from the palace preceded by a body of gendarmes, police 
agents, and a squadron of cavalry, accompanied by a number of 
dervishes and ulemas. Troops are ranged on both sides of the way 
for military honors, and immense crowds are gathered to witness the 
passing of the procession. Arriving at the station of Beshiktash, 
a ulema recites prayers for tne preservation of the Sultan, after 
which the presents are taken on board of an admiralty steamer; 
and the guns immediately announce its departure for Scutari. On 
its arrival there, the Sourre Houmayoun is received at the landing 
place by the governor, the general in command of the Selimieh 
Baracks , the commander of the gendarmery of Scutari, and by a 
large number of officers. The procession is formed again at Scutari, 
and is escorted by infantry and artillery, and by detachments of 
police to the Mutessarifat, where the sacred caravan remains until 
the time of its departure for the Holy city. After a few days stay 
at Scutari (Asiatic side) a Turkish steamer takes the Imperial 
Sourre, the chief of the sacred caravan and the entire suite to 
Beyrout, and thence to Mecca, where Sourre Emini distributes the 
presents to the Sheikhs. This procession takes place a fortnight 
before Ramazan or Lent. The month of Lent is vigorously kept 
by the Turks from sunrise to sunset daily, without even smoking; 
at sunset, cannons announce the hour for the close of the fast, 
which is called Iftar. The entire night is passed in feasting and in 
various amusements. During the month Ramazan, the poor are 
invited to partake of the repasts, and a special table is set for them. 
Little or no work is done during this month. The government 
offices are open but business is practically suspended. The life of 
the Turks is monotonous except during Lent, or Ramazan. The 
streets with their mosques, theatres, places of amusements are 
brightly illuminated and crowded with Turks; who at night in 
dulge in the greatest immoralities, some of which occur in the 
public baths. During the nights of this month the Turks exclude 
God from their thoughts and apparently are trying more diligently 
to go to hell than Christians to heaven. In the daytime they use 
Tesbeh, or strings of beads, to aid in devotional exercises. It 
enrages them exceedingly to see the Christians eating, drinking or 
smoking in their presence, and especially the old style Turks, who 
are intolerant, fanatical and with narrow prejudices hate everything 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



37 



that is not Turkish. A Turk cannot be the true friend of a 
Christian, it is utterly foreign to his nature. His apparent friend- 
ship has three objects — to corrupt the honesty of a Christian, to 
deprive him of his property, or to convert him to Islamism ; these 
converts are always called mourtats. On the 27th of every 
Ramazan, a Circassian Halaik (slave girl) is presented to the 
Sultan, by his mother or sister. The month of Ramazan is 
followed by Sheker Bairam Or Candy Easter, which lasts three 
days. On that day His Imperial Majesty goes to the Mosque 
in a court carriage drawn by four magnificent Arabian horses, 
accompanied by a brilliant retinue of marshals, generals and 
superior functionaries in full uniform, emblazoned with gold em- 
broidery and decoration; there he is received by the grand vizir, 
the Sheikh-ul-Islam, and other dignitaries, and is greeted with 
three cheers of "Long live the Sultan." The religious service 
lasts about an hour, and at its close the Sultan rides on a richly 
caparisoned white charger to the Dolma-Bagtche palace with his 
suite, where he withdraws to his private apartments to rest. 
Meanwhile the civil, military and religious dignitaries take their 
places in the throne room preparatory to the ceremony of hand 
kissing, and when his Imperial Majesty enters and takes his seat 
on the throne, the ceremony begins, the first in rank being their 
highnesses the princes Imperial. 

Seventy days after Sheker Bairam, comes the festival of Kourben 
Bairam or feast of the Sacrifice, which lasts four days. They have 
the same processions, and every Turk is obliged to buy one or 
more sheep. 

The canines of Constantinople constitute a large part of its popu- 
lation, and their existence there is said to date back to the time of 
the Greeks. These dogs are all of the same breed, they are very 
strong, with short thick hair ; ears like those of a fox, and their 
habitat is always in the same quarter of the city in which they were 
born. This is a matter of inheritance, and insures their safety — for 
woe to the one who ventures beyond its precints ! He is considered 
an alien, and is immediately attacked by other dogs, thus meeting 
an untimely fate. These hungry animals are the principal scavengers 
of Constantinople and swarm throughout the entire city ; homeless 
and friendless they lie in the streets apparently asleep, waiting for 
the refuse thrown out from the houses which is often their sole 
sustainance. The nights are made hideous by the howling and 
barking of the quadrupeds ; and their instincts is remarkable for 
those who inhabit the Turkish quarters will not attack any one 
wearing a fez. 

Sultan Mohammed was born in 1388, succeeded 
his father in 1413, and died in 1421. He was suc- 
ceeded by his son, Murad II. 



VII. 

SULTAN MURAD II. 
1421-1451. 

Murad II. succeeded to the throne in the eight- 
eenth year of his age. He was girded with the 
sword of Osman at Brusa by the Sheikh of Buchara, 
son-in law of his grandfather, Sultan Bayezid. He 
sent delegates to Asia and Constantinople, announc- 
ing his accession to the throne, and a treaty of peace 
for five years was concluded with Hungary and 
Caramania. The Byzantine Emperor, Emmanuel Pa- 
leologus, wishing to involve Murad in trouble with 
his rival, released Mustafa and Djuneid from the 
prison of Limnos, and obliged Mustafa to sign a 
treaty on condition that, after a successful engage- 
ment against the Sultan, he would restore to him 
Galliopoli, the towns of Thrace and those on the 
borders of the Black Sea. Shortly afterward Mis- 
tafa and Djuneid joined the Byzantine army, under 
Demetrius Leondarius ; marched against Gallipoli, 
which yielded with the exception of the castle, to 
which he laid siege, and the rebels proceeded to Ma- 
cedonia, raised another army and were successful. 
Bayezid Pasha, with his brother Hamzi Bey, were 
made prisoners, the former was beheaded and the 
latter pardoned. After this Mustafa and Djuneid 
advanced to Gallipoli ; its castle had surrendered to 
Demetrius Leondarius, but Mustafa, in violation of 
his promise, held it, and Demetrius departed for 
Constantinople. 

Sultan Murad, with his Genoese allies and Micha- 
loglu, who had been released from Tokat, attacked 

38 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



39 



Mustafa and Djuneid in Asia and finally defeated 
them. Mustafa, in his efforts to escape, was fettered 
by his own followers, who took him to Adrianople, 
where he was imprisoned and afterward executed. 

The Emperor sent a deputy to Sultan Murad 
asking for a treaty of peace, but he refused the 
proposition and prepared to punish the duplicity of 
Emmanuel by besieging Constantinople. On the 
22d of June, 1422, Michalogu, with 10,000 horsemen, 
advanced to the walls of Constantinople, where, 
after ten days, the rest of the Ottoman army arrived. 
The general assault was made September 5th ; both 
armies fought with great bravery, but the Turks 
were finally repulsed by the Greeks. After this 
Sultan Murad marched against the Governor of 
Aidin, who had revolted, and took him prisoner. 
He also defeated Isvendiar, the Prince of Casta- 
moni, who concluded a treaty of peace, giving to 
the Sultan the copper mines of Castamoni, also his 
daughter in marriage. The Sultan arriving in Adri- 
anople celebrated his own wedding and those of his 
three sisters. He then went to Asia, and after a 
successful campaign in various provinces returned 
to Europe. 

In 1423 Emperor Emmanuel abdicated, and was 
succeeded by his son, John VIII., Paleologus. Mu- 
rad made a treaty with the Emperor John on condi- 
tion that he would give him all the towns on the bor- 
der of the Black Sea and pay annually a tax of 30,000 
ducats. In the meantime another treaty was ar- 
ranged between the Sultan and the Princes of Wal- 
lachia and Servia. 



4Q 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY, 



In 1428 Sultan Murad marched against Sigismund, 
king of Hungary, who had seized a Servian for- 
tress, and defeated him. 

Salonica, which had been restored to the Byzan- 
tine Emperor by Mohammed I , was sold to the Ve- 
netians, but Murad repudiated the sale and claimed 
the city as hereditary property. He marched to 
Macedonia in 1430 and ordered General Hamza to 
attack Salonica. After a fortnight's siege and an 
obstinate conflict, in which even the women fought 
desperately, the town was taken by the Ottomans, 
followed by lawless plunder. Many of the inhabitants 
were inhumanely put to the sword, thousands were 
carried into captivity, while churches, monuments, 
tombs, etc., were basely polluted and many of its 
antiquities were transported to Adrianople. The 
V enetians, in revenge for the capture of Salonica, 
sailed to the Dardanelles and subdued the castle 
lying on the coast of Asia. Sultan Murad then 
arrived at Gallipoli with part of his army and re- 
newed his treaty with the Venetians, while the 
remainder was sent to subdue Yanina. In 143 1 
Yanina and Northern Albania, w T ith its capital 
Croia, were subdued by the Ottomans. 

In the same year Constantinople was visited with 
earthquakes, and afterward by the plague, among 
the victims of which were the Royal Princes Yussuf. 
Mohammed and Orchan, the two eldest brothers of 
Sultan Murad, the third son of the Royal Prince 
Suleyman, three Grand Vizirs, Aouz, Djira, Ibrahim, 
and the Sheikh of Buchara. In the same year Mo- 
hammed the Conquerer, son of Sultan Murad, was 
born. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



4' 



In 1433 Shikin Pasha attacked George Branko- 
vitch, the Prince of Servia, and compelled him to 
sign a treaty relinquishing the castle of Aladja 
Hisar and giving his youngest daughter in marriage 
to the Sultan. An insurrection broke out in Cara- 
mania, the Sultan immediately crossed to Asia, 
quelled it, and made the governor an officer in his 
army. In 1438 the Sultan formed a coalition with 
Dracoul, Prince of Wallachia, and Brankovitch of 
Servia, and took the field with them against the 
Hungarians, defeating them and taking many pris- 
oners. 

During the next spring he attacked his father-in- 
law and subdued the Fort Semendria, capturing the 
allied Prince Dracoul, who was afterwards released 
and again appointed governor of Wallachia. 

In 1439 the Sultan invaded Transylvania, where 
he was met by John Hunniades, its military gov- 
ernor, who, by his bravery, defeated the Ottoman 
army under General Medjid, killing him and twenty 
thousand of his troops at Hermanstadt in 1442. 
Another desperate battle was fought between the 
Ottomans under Shehadeddin Pasha and Hunniades, 
who attacked the enemy at Vasag and routed them 
with great slaughter. In the following year, 1443, 
Hunniades, with an army of Hungarians, Poles, Ser- 
vians, Wallachians and Germans, undertook a cam- 
paign against the Ottomans, which lasted several 
years, during which he gained brilliant victories on 
the banks of the Morava, near Nissa, and captured 
a number of towns. Finally the Turks became de- 
moralized and fled over the Balkan pursued by Hun- 
niades. At the close of the war a ten years' treaty 



42 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



was signed in the City of Szegeclin on condition 
that Servia should be independent, Wallachia to 
remain under the protection of Hungary. 

Shortly after these events, Allah-ud-din, the eld- 
est son of Murad, died. The Sultan was incon- 
solable, and resigned in 1444 in favor of his 
son, Mohammed, thirteen years of age, while 
the administration of the government was con- 
trolled by a regency of his faithful advisers. 
The Sultan then retired to his palace in Magnesia. 
Subsequent to this event, Hunniades violated the 
treaty and subdued Bulgaria. In the meantime the 
retired Sultan abandoned his residence, led an army 
of 40,000 across the Strait of Bosphorus, and met 
the enemy near Varna. As an emblem of the infi- 
delity of his enemy, the Sultan ordered a long spear 
to be placed before his tent, and to its point was 
fastened the signed treaty of peace with Hunniades. 
A dreadful conflict ensued, in which at first victory 
favored the allies, while the Ottomans wavered, but 
the King Vladislaus rushed on horseback to the 
front, fell, and was beheaded by a Janizary, who 
exposed his head on a spear in view of the Ottomans 
and Christians. Hunniades, seeing that the King was 
dead, fled with the Wallachians. After these vic- 
tories the Sultan returned again to Magnesia. The 
Janizaries, being displeased on account of their small 
pay, revolted, burned the market of Adrianople and 
pitched their camps around the 1 ' castle, threatening 
violence to all. 

The grand vizir Halil increased their compensa- 
tion and implored the Sultan to assume again the 
reins of the government, The Sultan immediately 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



43 



returned to Adrianople and quelled the disorders 
which had arisen during his retirement, and then 
determined to conquer the Peleponnesus. This 
province was in the possession of the last Emperor 
of Constantinople, then its regent, who for security 
had erected a wall across the Isthmus of Corinth. 
The Sultan, with an army of 60,000, advanced to the 
Peleponnesus, and arriving at the Isthmus com- 
menced an assault which was unsuccessful. On the 
15th of December, 1446, Sultan Murad resolved to 
march against Albania, the ruler of which was lsken- 
der Bey. He was the youngest of the four sons of 
John Castrioty, prince of Epirus in Albania, three of 
whom in boyhood had been taken as hostages in 
1410, kept in the seraglio, converted to Islamism, 
but — as was often the case — died mysteriously with 
the exception of George the youngest, surnamed 
Iskender Bey or Alexander Bey, who distinguished 
himself in the battle of Varna. After the death of 
John Castrioty, his son Iskender Bey claimed the 
right to succeed him as hereditary prince of Epirus, 
but being refused by the Sultan, determined to es- 
cape from the Turks and assume forcible possession 
of his patrimony. During the rout of the Turkish 
army near Nissa by Hunniades in 1443, the opportu- 
nity presented itself to him. He suddenly entered 
the tent of the Sultan's chief secretary, and forced 
that functionary, with the poniard at his throat, to 
write and seal a formal order to the Turkish com- 
mander of the strong city of Croia, in Albania, to 
deliver that place and the adjacent territory to Isken- 
der Bey, as the Sultan's viceroy. He then stabbed 
the secretary and hastened to Croia, where his strat- 



44 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



agem gained him instant admittance and submission. 
(See Creasy's history, p. 72.) He was engaged from 
time to time, in a number of conflicts with the Sultan 
and was successful. 

Two years previous to Murad's death, the Em- 
peror John of Constantinople died without issue, 
and Constantine Paleologus succeeded to the throne 
in 1449. 

In 145 1, while the Sultan was feasting with his 
friends at Adrianople, he was attacked by apoplexy 
and died in the forty-ninth year of his age. His 
reign of thirty years was an illustrious one. He 
was conspicuous for his bravery and aggressiveness. 
He erected the mosque called Outchseferli or 
44 Three Steps/' in Adrianople. He was succeeded 
by his ambitious and unmerciful son Mohammed II. , 
who ascended the throne in 145 1. 



VIII. 

SULTAN MOHAMMED II. 
Surnamed " Fatih," the Conqueror. 

1451-1481. 

On the death of Sultan Murad II., the grand vizir 
Halil Pasha at once despatched from Adrianople, a 
courier to Mohammed at Magnesia to announce the 
death of his father. The prince, without loss of time, 
mounted a swift horse, and with his followers, hur- 
ried to the shores of the Dardanelles and thence to 
Adrianople, ascending the throne on February 5th, 
145 1, at the age of twenty-one. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



45 



Mohammed II., surnamed Fatih or the Conqueror, 
commenced his reign by an act of unparalleled bar- 
barity. He caused his infant brother, the son of 
Murad's second wife, a princess of Servia, to be 
killed, and the merciless command was executed at 







X 



X: 



X 



/ 



Medal of Sultan Mohammed II. ' 
Copied from " Constantinople 11 by Scarlato Byzantius. Vol. I. page 389. 

the very moment when the mother, ignorant of her 
child's doom, was offering her congratulations to the 
murderer on his accession. The Sultan perceiving 
that his atrocity would cause the indignation of his 
subjects, endeavored to averl it by tne pretence that 



4 6 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



the abominable act was done by an officer without 
his knowledge, and instantly ordered his execution. 
(See Creasy, p. 75.) 

His dominion was not extensive ; it comprised the 
half of Asia Minor ; in Europe, Thrace, Macedonia, 
Bulgaria and Thessaly ; while in Albania, the brave 
George Castrioty or Iskender Bey continued his suc- 
cessful struggles. The Archipelago was held by the 
Greeks, Genoese and Venetians ; the Eastern part 
of Asia Minor was occupied by the Caramanoglus 
and Zoucadris ; and the rest by the Seljuks ; Com- 
nenus ruled at Trebizond ; the Mameluks in Syria 
and Egypt ; and on the Eastern side of the Euph- 
rates were the dynasties of the Black Ram and of 
the White Ram. 

Halil Pasha, though not a favorite of the new Sul- 
tan, was re-appointed grand vizir ; Isaac Pasha was 
appointed governor of the regions in Asia Minor, 
with the order to take with him the corpse of Sul- 
tan Murad to Brusa and inter it there. Deputies 
arrived to congratulate the Sultan on his accession 
to the throne ; to those who came from the Emperor 
of Constantinople, he promised friendship, with an 
annual payment for the support of his fugitive 
nephew Orchan in that city, and with the envoys of 
Hunniades he concluded a three years truce. 

During the reign of Constantine Paleologus, the 
last of the Greek Emperors, the Byzantine Empire 
was extended to the wall of Constantinople, the 
Genoese possessed Galata, and the Bosphorus was 
partly occupied by the Turks. Constantinople, 
however, with several islands of the Archipelago 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



49 



and the Peloponnesus, were the remnants of the do- 
minion, which for a thousand years had extended 
from Charchidon and Sicily to the Euphrates and 
the Tigris, and from the Danube to the falls of the 
Nile. The Emperor was a regent over Trebizond, 
Servia, Wallachia, Galata, and Mitylene. 

Although a treaty had been promised by the Sul- 
tan to Paleologus, yet Mohammed's intentions, un- 
der the guise of friendship, were those of conquest 
and destruction. The Emperor Constantine, how- 
ever, suspecting the Sultan, did not expect to reign 
in peace. He sent delegates asking him to sign the 
treaty as promised, but the only reply vouchsafed to 
this request, was the order to behead them. In the 
mean time the prince of Caramania, who had unwill- 
ingly submitted, attempted to assert his independ- 
ence ; but after an ineffectual struggle, was defeated 
and concluded a treaty, giving also his daughter in 
marriage to the Sultan. 

Finally the Sultan undertook to carry out the de- 
sire of his predecessors, the capture of Constantino- 
ple. With this in view, he ceased to pay the amount 
promised annually for his nephew and ordered the 
erection of Roumeli Hissar or the European castle, 
about five miles above Constantinople, facing the 
well known Guzeldje or Anadolu Hissar, on the 
Asiatic side, built by his grandfather, Bayezid 1. 
He commenced the erection of this castle on the 7th 
of April, 1452, one year before the capture of Con- 
stantinople, the material for which was taken from 
the ruins of the ancient churches in that locality, 
and from St. Michael's church of Stenia, a small vil- 



5o 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



lage on the Bosphorus. This castle is reported to 
riave been built in four months, and was called 
Boghaz-Kessen, or " Cut Throat," on account of its 
location at the narrowest part of the channel so as 
to control the passing vessels. Its construction was 
supervised by the Sultan, grand vizir, and the 
Pashas Saridje, Zaganos and Sehavedin, the latter a 
chief eunuch of the Sultan. 

On tne heights of Roumeli Hissar, one of the most beautiful 
spots on the Bosphorus, stands Robert College, an imposing stone 
edifice, named for its founder, Christopher R. Robert, of New 
York. It was erected under the supervision of Rev. Cyrus Hamlin, 
D.D., of Boston, first president of this famous American institution, 
who went to Constantinople in 1839. Dr. Hamlin is a cousin of 
Hannibal Hamlin, vice-president during Lincoln's first administra- 
tion. Near Robert College is a Teke, or Dervish convent of the 
order of Bektashi, or free thinkers. In addition, there are three 
other orders of Dervishes, the dancing, the howling, and the wan- 
dering dervishes, or monks, the last of whom have no fixed place of 
abode. They go about bareheaded and barefooted, never combing 
hair or beard ; bearing on their shoulders tiger, stag, or leopard 
skins, which they use as rugs, upon which to offer their prayers, 
and living mostly on alms, which are freely bestowed upon them 
by the faithful. 

When the castle was completed Feruz Agha, con- 
trolling 400 Janizaries, was appointed its commander. 
During its construction, Urban, a Hungarian cannon 
constructor, who was in the employ of the Emperor 
of Constantinople, resigned on account of his low 
wages, and offered his services to the Sultan. In 
accordance with the Sultan's orders, a large cannon 
was moulded expressly for use in the proposed siege. 
On the 28th of August, 1452, the Sultan encamped, 
with 50,000 men, by the walls of Constantinople, and 
after reconnoitring its towers, walls and ditches, re- 
turned to Adrianapole, while his fleet of 150 vessels 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



5' 



sailed through the Sea of Marmora, and arrived at 
Gallipolei. In October, 1452, the Sultan ordered 
Tourhan to advance with a powerful army to the 
Peloponnesus, accompanied by his sons, Ahmed and 
Omer. A dreadful conflict ensued near the Isthmus, 
and after a stubborn resistance the Greeks finally 
yielded. The loss on both sides was great. Tourhan 
then passed through Corinth to Tegea, Mantinia and 
Messina, devastated these cities, massacring their 
inhabitants, and selling the women and children into 
slavery. In another attack he was repulsed, and 
while retreating over the mountains between Mes- 
sina and Arcadia his army, in two divisions, marched 
in different directions. The one under Ahmed was 
attacked by Demetrius and Thomas, brothers of the 
Emperor Constantine Paleologus, and signally de- 
feated, while Ahmed himself was seized and sent to 
Sparta. The atrocities began to increase. The first 
attack was made on the 10th of November, 1452, upon 
two Venetian vessels from Kaffa, on the Black Sea, 
which were summoned to stop as they passed the 
strait, by Roumeli Hissar ; the order was not obeyed, 
and they were fired upon. The cunning Venetian 
captains pretended to approach and furled their sails, 
but being favored by the wind and current, they 
were soon out of reach of the cannon, and arrived 
safely in Constantinople. Another vessel, loaded 
with barley, under the command of Captain Antonio 
Rizzo, also from the Black Sea, was not so fortunate. 
It passed the Roumeli Hissar, and was summoned 
to surrender, but disobeyed, and was sunk by 
cannon stone balls from the tower. The captain 



52 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



and crew, thirty in all, were taken prisoners, sent in 
fetters to the Sultan, at Didimotico, except a beauti- 
ful young sailor (scrivanello), Maestro by name, who 
was secluded in the palace. The historian Duka, # 
who was sent there as an envoy by the Prince of 
Lesbos, asserts that the corpses were left unburied. 
(See Mordtmann's History, p. 75.) 

When a Christian town is captured by the Turks, they seize as 
many children of both sexes as they can find, and send the most 
perfect in form and features to Constantinople for the slave market, 
and if of great beauty, they were always taken into the palace. 
(See The Story of Turkey, by Stanley Lane Poole, p. 287.) 

The Venetian consul at Constantinople, Jeronimus 
Minoto, learning of the capture of the captain and 
sailors, sent Fabrotzo Cornero to the Sultan to 
intercede for them, but they were beheaded before 
his arrival. Many other vessels were captured, and 
met the same fate. In this tower, the Knights of 
Malta were confined, and since then it has served for 
a prison for the Christian slave princes ; many of the 
Janizaries, at the time of their extinction by Moham- 
med II., were imprisoned and afterwards beheaded 
there. 

Constantine, conscious of the impending danger, 
began to prepare with prudence and vigor, for a 
contest that was to decide the fate of his Empire. 
He resolved to invoke the assistance of Pope 
Nicholas V., who consented on condition that the 
Greek and Latin churches should be united. He sent 
Cardinal Isidore, who sailed with 50 men on a Geno- 
ese vessel to Scio, where he was joined , by 150 more, 
and then went to Constantinople. His demand was 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



53 



accepted by the Emperor, but rejected by the peo- 
ple. Two Venetian galleys, under the command of 
Captain Gabriel Trevisano, were sent to Constanti- 
nople, to assist Paleologus. Another large vessel, 
under the command of James Cok, sailed from 
Trebizond, and, approaching the tower, was sur- 
rounded by several boats. Captain Cok attempted, 
through bribes, to escape, but the officer from the 
castle found the " bakshish," or bribe, insufficient. 
He threw it into the Bosphorus, and returned to the 
tower to get further orders from the commander of 
the garrison. Cok pretended to anchor near the 
castle, but as soon as the officers landed there, the 
galley sailed at once and reached Constantinople 
December 4th, 1452. Meanwhile the Emperor had 
asked the aid of the Genoese, who sent Giovanni 
Giustiniani, with two galle)'S and 700 men, arriving 
at Constantinople in January, 1453, which proved to 
be the only assistance procured from Europe. The 
Emperor having been acquainted with Giustiniani, 
received him with great honor, appointing him com- 
mander of the army, and promised him the Island of 
Limnos, if Constantinople should be saved from the 
enemy. Constantine, seeing the very inadequate 
preparation for the defence of the city, requested 
his most faithful friend, George Franzis, to get from 
each commander a list of those in his division. This 
amounted to 7,000, of which 5,000 were Greeks, con- 
sisting of monks and others, and 2,000 foreigners. It 
was with much grief that Franzis handed this list to 
the Emperor, which was not made public, as it was 
difficult to collect additional troops in Constanti- 



54 OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 

nople, for his brothers, Demerius and Thomas, were 
engaged in a conflict with Tourhan, in the Pelopon- 
nesus, and could not render the Emperor any assist- 
ance, while some families had left Constantinople 
secretly. 

Constantine made every effort to preserve the 
Byzantine Empire, which had already lasted one 
thousand years, by constantly endeavoring to ani- 
mate his troops, and the inhabitants of the city by 
his presence, and to encourage them by his example. 
On the second of April he ordered Bartolomeo 
Soligo to secure the entrance of the Golden Horn 
by a strong chain, stretched from Stamboul Bagtche- 
capou, to Galata at Coursoumlou-magaze. 

The grand vizir, Halil Pasha, informed the Emperor 
privately of all the preparations against Const- 
antinople, and tried to dissuade Mohammed from 
destroying the city. According to the record of an 
Ottoman historian, Mehmed Said, Halil Pasha was 
bribed by the Emperor with large fishes, the bellies 
of which were filled with gold and silver coins. 
Halil Pasha was invited by the Sultan to visit him 
at night ; being suspicious of the invitation for such 
an unusual hour, he embraced his wife and children, 
took with* him a large sum of gold, went to the 
palace, and gave it to the Sultan. The Sultan being 
surprised at this, said to him : u I have more to give 
you ; I only want of you the capture of Constant- 
inople." The grand vizir answered him affirma- 
tively and then left the palace. 

Halil Pasha, was called Giavour Ortayi, or partner ot the in- 
fidels, and was killed by the Sultan twenty days after the capture 
of Constantinople. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



55 



In the beginning of February the large cannon, 
previously referred to, was transported from Adri- 
anople to the gate of St. Romanusin Constantinople, 
which is now called Top-capou or the " Gate of the 
Cannon." Karadza Bey, who with an army of 10,000 
men transported the cannon, arrived at St. Stefano, 
a village in the suburbs of Constantinpole, and 
captured it with great slaughter. 

The Turks were encouraged by the Sheikh Axam Sedin who 
had discovered in a vision by the Golden Horn the tomb of Eyoub, 
son of Zaid-ul-Koraib of Medina. He is supposed to have been 
the bearer of the prophet Mohammed's standard, and was killed 
during the third siege of Constantinopole by the x\rabs, 668 A. D. 
On this spot a mosque was built by Sultan Mohammed II., which 
ever since the fall of Constantinople has been considered the most 
sacred of all its places of worship. In it is preserved the sword 
of Sultan Osman I., and as each successive Sultan is proclaimed, 
he has to come here in person, accomanpied by all the dignitaries 
and officials of the Empire, in royal procession, to have this sword 
belted on him. This ceremony is equivalent to the coronation of 
a European sovereign, and by which he attains the dignity of 
Califf. Beyond this mosque, lies a historic Turkish cemetery, and 
on account of its sanctity, the most noble and faithful followers of 
Islam are interred there. 

The Sultan then took the command of his troops, 
the number of which is variously estimated, accord- 
ing to Nicolo Barbaro, who is considered the most 
accurate ; it was 160,000, among which were many 
dervishes, imams and molas, who during the fight 
encouraged the army ; while the Turkish fleet, con- 
sisting of 150 vessels of various sizes, was under the 
command of Balta oglu Suleyman Pasha, son of a 
rich Bulgarian named Balta, captured while young 
and converted to Mohammedanism. 

On Friday, April 6th, 1453, after prayer, the 
Turkish army and navy were ordered to attack the 



5 6 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



city. The Sultan was guarded by 15,000 Janizaries, 
and a part of his army was encamped near the gate 
of Top-capou, while the rest were in different places 
around its walls. Zaganos, brother-in-law of the 
Sultan, and Karadja Bey with a part of his army 
were on the hill of Pera, opposite Constantinople. 
(See Barbaro, p. 18 ; Franzis, p. 237.) 

Constantine Paleologus encamped with a part of 
his army, opposite to the Sultan, near the gate of St. 
Romanus or Top-capou. By the Emperor was the 
general in command, Giovanni Giustiniani, with his 
relative Don Franscesco, with 500 Genoese who 
fought to the last. (See Franzis, p. 254; Barbaro, 
p. 18.) The remainder of the Greek army was 
placed around the walls of Constantinople ; one part 
at Soulou-coule, under the command of the expert 
archer, Theodore Caristrios ; the second was en- 
camped at Edirne-capou or Adrianople gate, under 
the three brothers Brockiardi (Paolo, Antonio and 
Troilo); another under the Venetian consul, Jero- 
mino Minoto, at Eghri-capou, formerly called the 
Gate of Charsia or Galligaria, at Tekir or Tekfur- 
serai or the Lord's palace. 

The remainder of the weak wall was guarded by 
a German officer, John Grant, an expert miner ; 
and the northern part of the triangle, Aivassary, 
towards Eyoub, was protected by Cardinal Isidore 
with Romans and Scians. The towers, from Aivas- 
sary gate to Petri-capou, were under the control of 
two Genoese, Jeronimo and Leonardo ; from Petri- 
capou to Balouk Bazar, on the Golden Horn was 
guarded by the grand Duke Notaras, having with 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY, 



57 



him one hundred horsemen and 500 archers ; the 
towers Basilios, Leon and Alexios near Baghtche- 
capou, were protected by a crew of a Cretian ves- 
sel, which place these sailors held until the capture 
of Constantinople ; Seraglio point was protected by 
Orchan, the fugitive, with a few Turkish followers; 
he was afterward found near the house of the Grand 
Duke Luca-Notaras. 

The ruin Tekfur-Serai, familiar to many as the palace of Belis- 
arius, sometimes called the palace of Constantine the Great, is a 
large square building of solid masonary, with delicate ornamental 
work ; it has many windows and stands as a landmark upon a 
hill. 

Between Tchatladi-capou and Ahyr-capou, facing the Propontis, 
there is a Turkish house, which partially hides the following in- 
scription upon the wall : 

*AOYK 
NOTAPA 
AIEPMHNEYTOY 

From this we learn not only the location of Notara's house, but 
also that he was the dragoman of the Emperor. 

The gates of the Ahyr-capou, Tchatladi-capou, 
were guarded by the Spanish consul Pietro Giuliano, 
who came to Constantinople just after the com- 
mencement of the siege. The distance between 
Coum-capou to Samatia was guarded by the Vene- 
tian Jacob Kontarini ; Yedi-coule, or the seven 
towers, was protected by the German Emmanuel and 
the Venetian Catarino, having under their command 
about 200 archers ; the distance between Yedi-coule 
and Silivri-capou was protected by the Venetian 
Cornero with the Mathematician Theophilus Paleo- 
logus, the Genoese Mavrikio Kataneo and the 
Venetian Nicolo Mocenigo ; in the centre of the 



58 OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 

city, near the church of the Holy Apostles (on which 
place is built the mosque of Sultan Mohammed), was 
protected by Demetrius Catacuzenus and his 
brother-in-law, Nikiphorus Paleologus, with 700 
men as a reserve, the most being- Greek monks. 
(See Franzis, p. 255.) At the entrance of the harbor 
lies a rocky islet, Kiz-coule, or the Maiden's Tower, 
which was guarded by the Venetian captain 
Trevisano. 

The walls and towers mentioned above had been erected and 
enlarged in successive years by the Emperors Theodosius II., son 
of the Emperor Arcadius ; Theopilus, son of Michael ; Basilius, 
Justinian, Comnenus and Paleologus. The strongest parts are the 
land walls, comprising one hundred and twelve towers, i. e., from 
the sea to Yedi-coule or Aqueduct tower, fourteen towers ; from 
Soulou-coule to Edirne-capou or gate of Adrianople, nine towers ; 
from Eghri-capou or Oblique gate, eighteen towers ; from Eghri- 
capou to the Golden Horn, fourteen towers. The land walls are 
flanked by a double row of mural towers, defended by a moat 
about eight yards wide. The walls are about fifty feet high and 
vary in thickness. 

The harbor was protected by a strong chain 
and by four Genoese, three Cretian and two Im- 
perial vessels, under the command of Captain 
Antonio, while nineteen vessels were moored within 
the harbor, rendering it inaccessible. 

On the nth of April the Sultan ordered four large 
cannons to be placed at Top-capou, including the 
immense one made by Urban ; three in Silivri-capou ; 
two in Yedi-coule and the rest in other locations. 
At the first discharge, the terrible report of Urban's 
cannons terrified all the inhabitants of Constanti- 
nople, but after a short use it burst, and the body of 
its maker was blown to atoms over the walls and fell 
on the plains of At-Meidan, or the Hippodrome. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY, 



59 



The Sultan ordered a new cannon to be con- 
structed at once. Immediately after this an envoy, 
sent by the Hungarian regent, Hunniades, went to 
the Turkish camp to inform the Sultan that the 
three years' treaty had terminated and that it would 
not be maintained any longer. This envoy, observ- 
ing that each shot of the new cannon was always 
directed to one spot, advised the Sultan to place it 
in different positions in order to destroy the walls 
more quickly ; the advice was followed and the 
result was successful. On the 12th of April the 
Turkish fleet appeared before Constantinople and 
anchored at Beshiktash ; the Greeks, fearing a sud- 
den assault, put a watchman on the tower of Galata, 
who, by a private signal, was to inform them of its 
movements. 

The Galata tower was built by the Genoese in the year 1348' 
and is now used for fire signals. 

From the 12th to the 18th of April no action was 
taken by the Turkish fleet ; several skirmishes took 
place near the walls where many Turks were killed. 
On the 20th of April an Imperial vessel under 
the command of Captain Flantenella, laden with 
wheat, arrived from Sicily, and three Genoese ves- 
sels commanded by the Captains Castaneo, Nabara 
and Valaneri, all carrying the Greek flag, having as 
an emblem the double headed eagle, and loaded with 
provisions for the city, appeared on the Sea of Mar- 
mora. The Turks had discerned them, and Admiral 
Suleyman Pasha received orders to seize these ves- 
sels, and met them near Vlanga or Samatia. The 
spectators of this naval combat were the Christians 



6o 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



looking from the walls and the Turks from the sea 
coast. It was most sanguinary and dreadful ; the 
Greeks and Genoese used the Greek fire, invented 
before the time of Christ, which brought great 
destruction to the Turks, and the victory was on the 
side of the Christians. The Sultan, perceiving from 
the sea shore that his fleet was defeated, became so 
excited that he rushed on horseback into the shallow 
sea of Zeitin-bournou with his followers, thus wet- 
ting his clothes ; this action caused the fleet to rally, 
but after a short fight the Turkish vessels gave way 
in confusion and returned to their station at Beshik- 
tash. That night the four Christian vessels were 
towed safely into the harbor. The loss of the Turks 
was great, while that of the Greeks was small. On 
the 2 1 st day of April, the Sultan, with 10,000 horse- 
men, went to Beshiktash " stonecradle " and ordered 
that the Admiral Suleyman Pasha should be de- 
prived of his titles and executed at once. The indig- 
nation of the Pashas, however, caused him to recall 
this atrocious command ; but his property was con- 
fiscated and divided between the Janizaries, and the 
unfortunate Admiral received one hundred blows 
from the Sultan's heavy battle-mace. On the same 
day one of the towers of Top-capou was destroyed 
by the enemy's cannonade, and according to the 
historians, ten thousand Turks could easily have 
captured the city then, but the Sultan was absent at 
Beshiktash, where he was holding a council of war. 
The grand vizir, Halil Pasha, proposed that the 
siege should be raised and a treaty of peace con- 
cluded with the Emperor, compelling him to pay a 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



6l 



haratch or an annual tax, while the Sultan should 
have the authority to appoint the police officers in 
Constantinople. But the Sheikh Aksemzedin, who 
came with twenty thousand Dervishes, Zaganos, 
and the other Pashas, voted against Halil Pasha and 
rejected his propositions. In their subsequent 
arrangements to enter the Golden Horn, a plan was 
proposed by the Genoese of Galata to Sultan 
Mohammed, for the conveyance of his galleys over 
land and their launch into the harbor, for the attack 
by land was difficult and the chain constituted an 
impenetrable barrier. The plan was as follows : 
The distance from Dolma-bagtche up to the valley 
of Pangalti and Yenishehir, thence to Kassim Pasha, 
should be paved with planks, smoothed with grease, 
and the galleys, seventy-two in number, conveyed 
from Dolma-bagtche to the Golden Horn, while 
Zaganos Pasha and Karadja Bey guarded Pera with 
artillery to defend their galleys in case of an attack 
from the Greeks. 

According to the historian Barbaro, an eye witness, 
the inhabitants of Galata, who were Genoese, assisted 
in the completion of this work. After the launch of 
the Turkish galleys into the harbor of the Golden 
Horn, he asserts that several naval combats took 
place between the Turkish fleet and the Imperial 
vessels. The Turks constructed a bridge between 
Peri Pasha and Aivassary, consisting of a thousand 
wooden barrels, procured by the Genoese of Galata, 
which were fastened together and covered with 
planks ; artillery was placed upon it for the general 
assault ; the Christian vessels attempted to destroy 



62 OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 

the Turkish fleet and the bridge, but they were be- 
trayed by the people of Galata. On the 7th of May, 
towards evening, thirty thousand Turks assaulted 
the city by land, but they were repulsed with great 
loss ; this battle lasted about three hours. On the 
night o. the 12th of Ma}' fifty thousand Turks made 
another assault on the land walls of Tekir-serai, near 
Eghri-capou, but without success. On the 16th of 
May, a part of the Turkish fleet of Beshiktash 
station approached the harbor, but the Christian 
vessels soon repulsed the enemy. The same day an 
excavation was discovered near the foundation of 
the walls. The Emperor being informed of it by the 
Grand Duke Luca Notaras, ordered him to search 
for it ; it was found by the German officer, John 
Grant, through whose ingenuity many of the enemy 
were suffocated. On the 17th of May, five Turkish 
galleys approached the chain of the harbor but were 
attacked by the Christians. On the 18th of May the 
garrison of the city discovered a large movable 
tower covered with ox-hides, through which the 
besiegers safely attacked the Christians ; but it was 
destroyed by the Greeks. On the 21st of May a 
subterranean passage was discovered from which the 
Turks were driven out by explosives. On the 22d 
of May, two other excavations of the same kind were 
discovered. The Sultan, however, sent his son-in- 
law, Ismael Hamza Bey, son of the Isfendiar Khan, 
to the Emperor Constantine to propose the surrender 
of the city voluntarily, and promising safety to all 
those who wished to leave, but the Emperor called a 
council of war and a negative answer was given to 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



63 



the Turkish envoy. Another excavation was dis- 
covered on the morning of the 23d of May, which 
was destroyed ; two workmen were captured and 
their heads were thrown over the land walls. The 
Sultan in despair ordered a general assault to be 
made on the 29th of May, and to encourage his 
troops promised them three days' plunder of the 
city, excepting public edifices, with such treasures 
and captives as they could get. The Sultan's promise 
rejoiced the army, and that night an illumination 
took place which was thought by the Greeks to be a 
fire in the Turkish camp ; but they soon became 
aware of its real meaning. Giustiniani encouraged 
the garrison with all his might, and according to 
Bishop Leonardo's record, the Sultan was wonder- 
fully surprised by the honesty of Giustiniani, who 
scornfully rejected all his bribes to betray the Em- 
peror Constantine. 

Three days previous to the assault, the walls were 
bombarded ; this partly destroyed them leaving no 
outlets through which the Greeks could attack the 
enemy. A few old men knowing that a gate, called 
the Wooden gate, had existed under the palace near 
Eghri-capou by the present Greek cemetery, reported 
it to the Emperor and he ordered it to be opened for 
an assault against the enemy. After the assault, it 
was accidentally left open, a number of Turks entered 
but were killed. 

Constantine, who was conspicuous for his piety as 
well as for his valor, showed himself most worthy of 
his crown at the time when he was about to lose it 
forever. The citizens fought bravely in defense ot 



64 OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 

their homes and their families, members of whom 
took part in the engagement by pelting the enemy 
with stones, but it was all in vain. Under the gloomy 
dome of St. Sophia the brave and unfortunate Em- 
peror Constantine came during the last night of his 
life and received solemnly and tearfully the sacrament 
of the Holy Eucharist. At dawn on the 29th of May, 
1453, he left St. Sophia, on horseback, for the place 
where the fatal assault was made. The Turks began 
the attack, using the scaling ladders — two thousand 
in number — constructed by them, some of which 
were destroyed, and the assaulters were killed with 
stones and Greek fire, while those who retreated 
were cut up by their fellow Turks. The second 
assault was made against the gate of Top-capou 
(St. Romanus), where the Emperor stood, but the 
Greeks repulsed the Turks with considerable loss ; 
the Sultan then ordered the Janizaries to proceed, 
and the defence of the city was obstinate. The 
assault continued near the gate of Top-capou but 
without effect, and the standard bearing the emblem 
-of the double headed eagle of the Emperor continued 
to wave in its place. 

During the morning a large cannon ball destroyed 
a part of the wall where the Venetians stood, and 
about three hundred Turks rushed in, but retreated 
with great loss. The Turkish galleys lying in the 
harbor, under the command of Zaganos Pasha, 
directed their attack against Fanar, but the Grand 
Duke Luca Notaras drove them back. The Sultan 
encouraged his soldiers, sometimes with kind words, 
and again threatening them with his iron club, which 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



65 



still exists in the Imperial armory. 'Another large 
cannon ball destroyed a second section of the land 
walls, through which several thousand Turks rushed 
in, but the garrison pelted them with stones, using 
the Greek fire. The dead of the Turks were so 
numerous that, according to the ocular testimony of 
the historian, Nicolo Barbaro, a large number of 
camels were required to carry away the corpses. 
The garrison of Top-capou began to withdraw, when 
Theophilus Paleologus, in connection with Deme- 
trius Catacuzenos, repulsed the Turks again. The 
Emperor seeing this, encouraged his men, and stimu- 
lated them to redouble their energy. The Geneose 
general, Giovani Gustiniani, while bravely fighting, 
was seriously wounded in the arm by an arrow, and 
thinking it hopeless to resist further, he left his post. 
The Emperor tried all means to retain him, but in 
vain, and he departed to Galata. (See Franzis, p. 
283-284.) His soldiers, being left without a com- 
mander, came to confusion, and the Turks perceiv- 
ing this, made another assault. A Janizary named 
Hassan, a man of gigantic size and great strength, 
with thirty others; rushed to assist them, but the 
Greek garrison killed eighteen of them. Hassan 
with his followers ascended the land walls, but they 
were pelted with stones, and he was finally killed. 
(See Franzis, p. 284-285.) Similar struggles occurred 
in other places, where the Greeks threw the ascend- 
ing Turks back over the walls. At last they found 
that the Turks had entered from the wooden gate, 
and were attacking the Christians in the rear, A 
cry was heard that the Turks were in the city, and 



66 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



the Christians ran towards the gates of the harbor in 
order to escape into the ships, but unfortunately the 
guards that were stationed there, in the confusion, 
locked them, and threw the keys over the walls into 
the sea. 

The Emperor tried once more to oppose the 
enemy, but it was impossible, for all hope had gone. 
He then rushed on horseback, sword in hand, accom- 
panied by his followers, towards Top-capou, fighting 
the Turks. On his right side, Don Francesco, from 
Toledo, and Theophilus Paleologus, were also fight- 
ing bravely ; and on the left Catacuzenos and John, 
the Dalmatian, who after many brilliant achieve- 
ments, fell dead. The heap of corpses was so high 
that the entrance to the gate was almost impassable. 
While Constantine was fighting he received a wound 
in the face from an Arab, whom he instantly killed, 
and in a few moments met with the same fate him- 
self from the hands of another one of the enemy. 
Thus the last Sovereign of the Eastern Empire fell 
on the 29th of May, 1453, at the early age of forty- 
nine, in a brave and glorious defence of his country 
and his throne. The Turks rushed into the city, 
meeting with no resistance, making dreadful havoc 
among the Greeks, without the least distinction of 
rank, age or sex ; destroying the Imperial emblems 
on the public edifices and replacing them with the 
Ottoman standard. The crew of the Turkish fleet, 
seeing their standards waving in the city, landed 
rushed into it, and into every house which they 
entered hoisted a Turkish flag as a sign that it had 
been plundered. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



6/ 



General Giustiniani, who was suffering from the 
effects of the wound which he had received during 
the siege, left Constantinople, crossed to Galata on a 
vessel and sailed to Scio, where shortly afterwards 
he died from a broken heart. The brave Cretian 
sailors, who guarded the towers of Bazilios, Leon 
and Alexios, by the entrance of the harbor, still 
fought heroically, without paying the least attention 
to its capture, and the Sultan, seeing their bravery, 
allowed them to embark on their vessels and depart, 
taking with them their arms. (See Franzis, p. 286.) 
The brothers Paolo, Antonio and Troilo, surnamed 
Brokiardi, who were still fighting by the gate of 
Adrianople, or Edirne-capou, being surrounded by 
the enemy, succeeded in effecting their escape and 
crossed to Galata. Cardinal Isidore, though dis- 
guised, was captured and sold at Galata, from 
whence he afterwards escaped. The historian 
Franzis and his family were captured and bought by 
the Sultan's chief groom. His daughters and a son, 
fourteen years old, named John, remarkable for their 
beauty, were presented to his master, and were 
secluded in the Seraglio. The lad John was assas. 
sinated soon after by the Sultan himself, with his 
own scimitar. (See Franzis, p. 309.) Franzis, with 
his wife, were ransomed by the Christians and sailed 
to Peloponesus, thence to Italy, and afterwards to 
Corfu, a Greek island, where he finally became a 
monk. 

George Franzis, descended from a noble Greek family, was born 
in Constantinople in 1401, and died in 1477. He was a cultured 
man, an able and loyal diplomatist, and a true patriot. He was the 
author of a valuable history of the fall of Constantinople, which in- 



68 OTTOMAN DYNASTY 

eludes his ocular testimony, and the narratives of the sufferings of 
himself and others at that period, the perusal of which, even after 
the lapse of time, is harrowing to the reader. It was published in 
Greek in Vienna in 1796. 

Some of the Christian vessels were captured, 
others escaped with fugitives, one of them being 
Nicolo Barbaro, the Venetian historian. The Vene- 
tian merchants of Constantinople, who were hidden in 
cellars, were captured. The Spanish consul, Jeron- 
imo Minoto ; the Venetian consul, Pietro Giuliano, 
were also taken into slavery. Finally, the Grand 
Duke Notaras, abandoned by his men, went to the 
tower where his family lived and finding there a 
number of Turks who tried to force its entrance, 
he fought bravely against them but was wounded. 
The Sultan ordered that Notaras should be confined 
in his tower. In the same place, Orchan, the grand 
son of Sultan Bayezid I., was found disguised as a 
monk after the capture of Constantinople, and was 
betrayed to the Turks, who beheaded him. 

According to the historian Barbaro, the captives 
numbered about sixty thousand. 

Turkish cruelty, with the horrible barbarity of 
Islamism, in its treatment of the Christians, was 
shown at St. Sophia. This vast basilica was crowded 
by old men, women, girls and little children, its 
subterranean passages, porch, chapel, corridors, im- 
mense rostrums, the platforms and domes, could 
hold many thousands ; its ponderous gates were 
broken open by axes ; one long piteous cry, the 
blending of many voices, arose towards heaven ; in 
an instant the Turks rushed in, making terrible 
havoc, killing the priests and old men, and commit- 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



69 



ting barbarous outrages. Youth and beaut)' at- 
tracted their choice ; men, women and children, 
without any distinction, were tied in couples, the 
men were bound with cords ; the women fastened 
with their girdles and braids of long hair. Some of 
them were thrown into the ships, others carried to 
the Ottoman camp, brutally assaulted, sold and 
treated worse than cattle. Such lamentations were 
never heard in any part of the world ; the women 
were separated forever from their husbands, the 
children from their mothers, for the Turks took 
their living booty from Constantinople to different 
parts of Asia. The Turks, on this as on all other 
occasions, treated the vanquished with the most re- 
morseless cruelty and massacred them by thousands 
in cold blood. The rest of the Greeks soon shared 
the fate of their capital, except a few who escaped 
to Italy ; and thus Constantinople became subject to 
the Mohammedans. 

The Sultan entered the city by the gate of St. 
Romanus, accompanied by the grand vizir, pashas, 
and guards ; he alighted from his horse before the 
front gate of St. Sophia, and entered under the 
dome ; as he did so, he struck with his scimitar, a 
Turk who was splitting the marble pavement, be- 
cause he did not wish any public edifice to be 
injured. 

The injury to the marble pavement by the Turk, for which he 
was struck by the Sultan, illustrates the vandalism which is innate 
to that race ; for the historian Mordtmann states that he often 
saw Turks in Asia Minor, destroying many beautiful sculptures; 
on asking them the reason for doing so, they would reply, " Bou 
tashlar, bize yaramaz," or " These stones are useless to us." 

The day of Sultan Mohammed's triumphal entry into the city 



7o 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



and thence to the church of St. Sophia was Djouma or Friday, 
which has since been observed as the Mohammedan Sabbath, or 
day of rest. Since then the Selamlik, or the attendance of the 
Sultan for prayer at any mosque always takes place on that day. 
At his entrance with his suite, he is met by the green-turban ed 
Iman or Moslem priest, and commences his prayers; the throng in 
the hall of the mosque consists only of men, the women who come 
to gaze and gossip sit in latticed galleries. The pageant is a 
brilliant one, carriages, horses, men and dogs mingled together in 
confusion. After his devotions are finished, the bugle gives warn- 
ing of his intended departure from the mosque, the troops present 
arms and the shout goes up "Padisha Chok Yasha ;" or "Let the 
Sultan live forever." 

The great church of St. Sophia was immediately 
transformed into a mosque, and the Turkish crescent 
was^laced upon the dome, where the cross had 
stood for ages ; the muezzin or crier ascended its 
loftiest turret, and gave the Azan or public invita- 
tion to pray in the name of God and His prophet, 
while Sultan Mohammed II. ascended the altar and 
offered the Namaz or prayer, where but a few days 
previous, the brave but ill-fated Constantine, the last 
of his Imperial race, had received the Sacrament. 
In accordance with their law, they simplified the 
interior, and all the brilliant mosiac figures were 
whitewashed. 

The national ensign of the Turks is the crescent or half moon. 
It can always be found on the domes and minarettes of the 
mosques, just as the cross is the emblem of the Greek and Roman 
Catholic churches. Tradition gives as the origin of it, that the 
Hegira, or flight of their prophet Mohammed from Mecca to 
Medina was at the time of the new moon ; therefore the use of the 
crescent is a memorial of that event. 

The mosque of St. Sophia, formerly a Christian Cathedral, was 
originally founded by Constantine the Great in 325 A. D., and was 
dedicated to the " Divine wisdom of God," which its name, 
St. Sophia (wisdom) signifies. This church was rebuilt by 
Constantius, the son and successor of Constantine the Great; it 
stood until the reign of the Emperor Arcadius and was one of the 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



73 



most prominent of all the Oriental churches. After the exile of the 
Patriarch Chrisostomus by Eudoxia, wife of the Emperor Arcadius, 
St. Sophia was deprived of the eloquence of that ecclesiastical 
orator, and the people being indignant at this, burned it. In 415 
A. D., it was rebuilt by the Emperor Theodosius II., but in 532 A. D., 
during the revolt of Nicaea, it was destroyed by fire for the second 
time, and rebuilt entirely by the Emperor Justinian on the same 
foundation. No pains or expense have been spared in its con- 
struction ; from all parts of the country the finest marbles were 
selected, and the sculptured pillars which support the large central 
dome, were taken from such ruins as the temple of Diana at 
Ephesus, the temple of Baalbec, as well as from Jerusalem and 
Thebes. In the year 1204 Crusaders ransacked this sacred edifice, 
and carried away the greater part of the treasures, which had given 
it the name of being the richest and most beautiful cathedral in 
the world. 

Besides St. Sophia there are other churches in Constantinople 
which have been transformed into mosques ; Zeirek Mosque or 
Convent of the Omnipotent, outside of which there is a tomb of 
green stone with sculptured crosses ; Tchertchi Mosque, formerly 
the church of the Holy Virgin ; Emirahor Mosque, or Convent of 
St. John the Baptist at Samatia ; Kiutchuk Aghia Sophia Mosque 
of Tchatladi-capou ; Mudrum Mosque, or Convent of Nuns, at 
Vlanga ; Kahrie Mosque, or Country Hermitage, at Edirne-capou ; 
Mefa Mosque, at Mefa ; Eski-Imaret Mosque, between Oun-capou 
and Djubali ; Mahmoud Pasha Mosque ; Kodja Mustafa Pasha 
Mosque, or church of Andrew the Disciple, near Silivri-capou ; 
Kefeli Mosque, at Salma Toumbrouk ; Giul Mosque, or St, Theo- 
dosia, at Aya-capou ; Atik Mustafa Pasha, or Church of the 
disciples Peter and Paul, at Aivassary. In the last mentioned 
there was a Baptismal font with steps descending into it, cut from 
one piece of marble, which now stands directly opposite, but it has 
been badly cracked by the ruthless hands of the Turks. 

When his prayer was finished he went to the 
deserted palace of the Emperor Constantine. He 
then sent for Grand Duke Notaras, and asked him if 
the Emperor had fled ; the Grand Duke replied that 
he was absolutely ignorant of what had become of 
him, for the Emperor was in the Imperial gate when 
the Turks entered the gate Soulou-coule, or Aqueduct 
tower, and met him there. In the meantime two 
young Turks approached Sultan Mohammed boast- 



74 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



ing that they had killed the Emperor, but neither 
one was sure of it; therefore it was necessary to 
examine many bodies in order to identify that of 
Constantine. Finally it was found under the heaps 




^ V ^ ! 

TT H n A Q- f~* 

■ » * ^J,A 

Constantine Paleologus X. Last Emperor of Constantinople. 
From a seal in " Doctrina numorum veterum conscripta a Josepho Eckhel, Vol. VIII. 
p. 273." existing in the Museum of Vienna. 

of the dead, and was recognized from the Imperial 
eagles which were embroidered upon his buskins. 
His head was conveyed to Mohammed, who asked 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



75 



the Grand Duke Notaras if it was that of the Em- 
peror. Notaras replied in the affirmative. Moham- 
med ordered it to be exposed on a stake in the 
Hippodrome, in order that the vanquished people 
would not doubt his death, or hope for his re-appear- 
ance ; he then directed the Emperor's body to be 
buried. 

Constantine Paleologus X., fourth son of Emperor Emmanuel 
and Empress Helen, the daughter of Constantine Dragassi, prince 
of Macedonia, was born on the 21st of Feb., 1404. He was educated 
in Constantinople by the famous teacher Catacuzenus, and was 
married twice, but his wives died leaving no issue. He was pro- 
claimed Emperor of Constantinople on the 24th of March, 1449, 
and in the fourth year of his reign fell fighting gloriously to the 
last, and was buried, according to the historian Mordtmann, at a 
corner of a Khan, near Mefa-meidani or Mefa plain, which is now 
occupied by shoemakers. 

Mohammed by deceit and treachery drew from 
Notaras, during his intercourse with him, the names, 
of all the Greek nobles, and sending for them, tried 
to conciliate them. 

On the next day, May 30, Mohammed visited the 
house of the Grand Duke Notaras and was cordially 
received ; then approaching the bed of his sick wife, 
he encouraged her with false promises ; as well as 
their three sons, who offered their submission, and 
after a short stay the Sultan left. During this time 
the plunder and cruel outrages of the Turks still 
continued. 

Sultan Mohammed gave a banquet at the Imperial 4 
palace, and being intoxicated ordered the Kizlar 
Agha or chief of his eunuchs to go to the Grand 
Duke Notara's house, and bring to him his youngest 
son, a boy fourteen years of age. The grand duke 



j6 OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 

refused to deliver his son to the Sultan. (See "Fall 
of Constantinople" by A. D. Mordtmann, p. 164; 
Scarlato, Vol. I, p. 290; Creasy, p. 85; Paparrigo- 
poulos, Vol. V, p. 432), 

The eunuchs were divided into the black and the white ; the 
black eunuchs were Africans and formed the guards of the Imperial 
Harem. Their chief was called Kizlar Aghassi or "Master of the 
girls," his robe was white with a cylindrical head dress of the same 
color. The white eunuchs had charge of the pages ; their chief 
was called Kapou Aghassi or "Master of the gate/' There were 
also mutes and dwarfs, who served as buffoons to amuse the Sultan 
and his household. A large number of the black eunuchs and a 
few dwarfs still exist in the palace. 

Sultan Mohammed in a rage ordered Notaras and 
his family to be put to death, except the youngest 
son. The Grand Duke Notaras saw the heads of his 
two eldest sons fall, and after a few moments in 
prayer, he also met the same fate, and they died as 
Christians. Their bloody heads were placed in a 
row before the Sultan on the banqueting table, and 
their bodies were left unburied. (See Mordtmann, p. 
166; Paparrigoupolos, p. 432.) This, in connection 
with the fiendish instigation of a renegade French- 
man, whose daughter, then in the harem, was a 
special favorite of the Sultan ; with his constant 
intoxication, served to excite the dormant ferocity 
of his nature, and he ordered the nobles whom he 
had bribed only the day before, to be executed, and 
the most beautiful of their children to be confined in 
the harem. Then the Venetian consul Jeronimo 
Minoto, his son George, the Spanish consul Pietro 
Giuliano, with his two sons, were all executed; other 
Venetians were liberated by paying heavy ransoms. 
The pillage of the city lasted for three days after its 



I 2 

1. Kizlar Aghassi or Chief Eunuch. 

2. Djudge or Dwarf. 

3. Agha or White Eunuch. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 79 

capture. The fleet and the army carried away 
immense treasures and many captives. The con- 
dition of the Christians was pitiable in the extreme ; 
the meanest Turks insulted the most honorable 
Christians with impunity ; their properties, the 
honor of their wives and children and their own lives 
depended on the caprice of these ferocious barbar- 
ians, who did not hesitate to commit the vilest 
outrages, in mere wantonness. On the fourth day 
Mohammed commenced to regulate the affairs of 
the new capital of the Ottoman dominion. He was 
anxious to appease the fears and stop the further 
exit of the panic-stricken citizens, who sought safety 
in every direction, and wisely turning his attention 
to the church, decided to till the vacant patriarchal 
throne at once, and ordered the election of a new 
patriarch, which resulted in the choice of the erudite 
Gennadius II., Scholarius, a native of Constantinople, 
who retained the office for more than five years, then 
resigned and went to the convent of St. John the 
Baptist, near Seres in Macedonia. 

The reception of the Patriarch at the palace was a royal one. 
When he left the Sultan presented him a golden staff. According 
to the Byzantine custom, he mounted a richly caparisoned steed, 
and was escorted by the court officials and a body guard to his 
residence at the patriarchal church of the Holy Apostles, where 
the mosque of Mohammed II., now stands. After a few years the 
Patriarchate was removed to the church of the Holy Virgin, which 
in 1608 was taken by the Turks and turned into a Mohammedan 
mosque, now called Fetie Djamessi, then to the church of St. 
Demetrius at Xyloporta. a village on the Golden Horn, and after- 
wards to the church of St. George at Fanar, where it remained until 
the present time. This custom of the reception at the election of 
the Patriarch was observed in the same form until the year 1657. 
From that period to the present time, it has been in a different 
manner; an aid-de-camp of the Sultan attends upon the Patriarch- 



8o 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



elect, escorts him with his suite in court carriages to the palace. 
There he is received in solemn audience by the Sultan ; instead of 
the Golden staff, he is invested with the decoration of the Grand 
Cordon of the Imperial Order of the Medjidie. On leaving the 
palace, the Patriarch and his suite proceed in state to the Sublime 
Porte, from thence to the Patriachal church at the Fanar, where 
the enthronement takes place. Mohammed II., conferred upon the 
first Patriarch, by letters patent, the dignity of Ethnarch or head of 
the Orthodox community under the Turkish rule, with judicial 
powers, in all matters coming under ecclesiastical control. The 
Patriarch, the archbishops and bishops were exempted from the 
payment of all tribute and taxes. 

The Sultan having quieted the Christians of Con- 
stantinople, visited Galata on the 2d of June, and 
ordered a list of the inhabitants and houses to be 
made, and to confiscate the property of those who 
had fled. The walls of Galata were destroyed, while 
those of Constantinople were repaired. Shortly 
after, the Sultan advised the Shah of Persia, the 
Sultan of Egypt and the Sherif of Mecca, of the 
capture of Constantinople and received congratu- 
lations from the envoys of various rulers. 

Near the far famed cathedral St. Sophia, is At-Meidam or the 
Hippodrome, the most historic square of ancient and modern 
Constantinople. The Hippodrome was embellished by Con- 
stantine the Great, and by his imperial predecessors. Here, the 
Emperors in their splendor witnessed the horse and chariot races ; 
here political manifestations were held ; manifestations which 
frequently led to bloody combats, and to changes in throne and 
state. On the capture of Constantinople by the Latins the Hippo- 
drome, which contained many antiques in metal and in marble 
brought from all parts of the world, was ransacked by these hordes, 
who, under the guise of Christianity, committed as many outrages 
as their Mohammedan enemies ; the rest were destroyed by the 
vandalism of bigoted Musulmen. 

All that remain of the monuments, statues and splendid works 
of art that adorned the Hippodrome are: 

1. The Colossus stands now, as it has for many years past, mo- 
mentarily threatening to fall. It was formerly adorned with brass 
plates in bas relief, and was restored by the Emperor Constantine. 
The brazen plates which were upon it were carried away by the 
fourth Crusade, being mistaken for ingots of gold. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



83 



2. The Serpentine column, a headless memory of the past, was 
cast in Greece in the year 478 B. C, and erected at Delphi in com- 
memoration of the victory of Platea. It was about 15 feet high, 
formed of three serpents turned spirally, and upon their heads was 
placed the famous golden tripod consecrated to Apollo. Nothing 
remains of this famous work of art after its mutilation by the 
Turks, but the trunk. There is an inscription upon the pillars, 
said to have been written by Pausanius of Sparta. 

3. The Egyptian Obelisk, or the Obelisk of Theodosius, is a 
monolith of red granite, covered with hieroglyphics; it was brought 
from Heliopolis and erected again by the Emperor Theodosius. 
It stands on four small blocks of bronze, resting on a sculptured 
marble pedestal. 

4. Constantine's column, now called Tchemberlitashi, is com- 
posed of eight pieces, and according to the historian Zonara, it was 
brought from Rome ; other historians state it came from Philadel- 
phia or from Magnavra. On the top was placed the bronze statue, 
of Constantine the Great, which faced the East ; it was totally 
destroyed by a hurricane in April 1105, and was replaced by a 
cross. Under the foundation of this column have been placed 
many valuable and sacred relics. It was burned by the Turks 
after the capture of Constantinople and has been supported ever 
since by hoops of irons. 

Near this place is the cistern Bin-bir-derek, or the Thousand 
and one column ;" it is supposed to have been built by Philoxenus 
in the reign of Constantine the Great, 306-307 A. D. It is situated 
near the Hippodrome. It measures 60 by 51 metres and the roof 
is supported by 212 columns, and not by the number that its name 
would indicate. There are several other cisterns of much larger 
dimensions than this one ; one near Yedi-coule; one under the 
mosque of Selim, and another called the "Basilica" near the 
Seraglio, supported by 366 granite columns. 

In the same year Tourhan Bey marched to the 
assistance of Demetrius and Thomas, brothers of the 
Emperor Paleologus (who had been compelled to 
taxation by Sultan Mohammed II.), against the 
revolting Albanians, and crushed the rebellion there. 

In the spring of 1454 the Sultan marched against 
Servia, subdued several forts and thence returned 
to Constantinople to superintend the embellishment 
of his new capital. He appointed as grand vizir, 



7 



8 4 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



Mahmoud Pasha Michaloglu, who was beloved by 
his master and had received his education at the 
palace. 

Sultan Mohammed built his Seraglio on the same spot where 
the famous equestrian statute of the Emperor Justinian formerly 
stood, which was destroyed by him. Since Mohammed II., 
twenty- five Sultans have lived in the Seraglio, and each one in 
succession has made additions to it. Sultan Medjid, the father 
of the present ruler, transferred his residence to the Palace of 
Dolma-Bagtche, and since then the old Seraglio has been used as 
the secluded home only for the wives of the deceased Sultans. 

In the same year, the Ottman fleet under Admiral 
Giuniz Pasha, conquered the islands of Lemnos, 
Thassos, Samothraki and Imvros, and made peace 
with the inhabitants of Scio. The Sultan marched 
against Belgrade with 150,000 men and 300 cannons, 
in the meantime the Ottoman fleet of 200 galleys 
w r ent up the Danube and anchored near that city. 
Hunniades having under him a combined army of 
60,000 with a fleet of 200 galleys, attacked the 
Ottomans by land and sea, and defeated them with a 
great loss, wounding Sultan Mohammed. Three 
weeks after this the famous hero Hunniades died at 
Belgrade. 

Sultan Mohammed returned to Adrianople, cele- 
brated there with great pomp the circumcision of his 
sons Bayezid and Mustafa, and then marched against 
Servia, whose despotic ruler, George Isfendiar-oglu, 
had just died and was succeeded by his son, Laza- 
rus, who soon followed his father. His widow, 
Helen, implored the assistance of the European 
powers, promising Servia to the Pope as a pledge ; 
but Maro, a widow of Murad II. and daughter of 
George Isfendiar, as the rightful heir, demanded the 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



85 



throne of Servia from Mohammed. He assigned 
Semendria to Maro, allowed Helen to leave the 
castle in safety, but carried its inhabitants into slav- 
ery, and thus Servia, in 1459, was annexed to the 
Ottoman Empire 

Iskender Bey, prince of Albania, fought success- 
fully against the Ottomans, and the Sultan, intend- 
ing to conquer Greece, concluded a treaty of peace 
with him. Mohammed marched against Corinth 
and subdued it ; after which he concluded a treaty 
with Demetrius and Thomas ; and while advancing 
to Athens an insurrection broke out in the Pelopon- 
nesus, compelling his return. He reduced that 
entire region to subjection. Demetrius was sent to 
Adrianople, became a monk, and died in 1471. His 
wife and only daughter, twenty-two years of age, 
according to the historian Franzis (See Scarlato, 
p. 300), had been taken by Sultan Mohammed and 
placed in his Seraglio in June, 1460. Thomas fled 
to Rome, where he was kindly treated by Pope 
Pius II., who offered him a yearly sum for the sup- 
port of his family. His daughter, Sophia, a princess 
of rare beauty and high culture, was married to 
Ivan III., Emperor of Russia. In the same year the 
greater part of Greece was conquered. Meanwhile 
the Sultan made preparations to take Trebizond on 
the Black Sea, which was under the authority of 
David Comnenus, a descendant of one of the By- 
zantine Emperors. A powerful fleet, under Grand 
Vizer Mahmoud Pasha, sailed to Sinope, while the 
army was under the command of the Sultan. Amassia, 
occupied by the Genoese, yielded at once, and many 



86 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



of its inhabitants were sent to Constantinople. Sin- 
ope, held by the Turkomen,was also taken. Thence the 
Sultan proceeded to Trebizond King David Com- 
nenus surrendered and was treacherously executed 
with his seven sons, his nephew and his brother 
Alexis. They were left unburied by order of the 
Sultan, but Queen Elene, the Katacouzene, during 
the night, took a pick axe, dug a grave and buried 
the bodies of her dead with her own hands. After 
a short time she also died of grief. Many inhabi- 
tants were tortured with all the cruelty that savage 
cunning could invent, and one-third of their num- 
ber was conveyed to Constantinople. The Walla- 
chian Dracoul Brad, hearing that Mohammed in- 
tended to declare war against him, proposed peace ; 
but afterwards, by alliance with the Hungarians, 
transgressed the treaty. Sultan Mohammed de- 
spatched delegates requesting him to desist from 
his hostile designs, but Dracoul beheaded them. 
Immediately the Ottoman fleet went up the Danube, 
arrived at Vidin, disembarked the army of 150,000 
men, spreading devastation over Braila and Kilia. 

Dracoul attacked the Ottomans during the night, 
and rushing forward endeavored to enter the Sul- 
tan's tent, but was repulsed by the Janizaries and 
fled to Hungary, where he was imprisoned by Ma- 
theas Corvinus, son of Hunniades. 

The Sultan subdued Wallachia and appointed as 
governor his beloved Cadul, brother of Dracoul, 
who in 1462 was assassinated by a servant. In 1463 
the Sultan was engaged in three wars — the first 
with the Venetians, the second against the Princes 
of Caramania and the third with Bosna. 



O T TO MA N D YA'A STY. 



87 



The Ottoman fleet, under Mahmoud Pasha, sailed 
against Mitylene. This island was presented by the 
Paleologus to a Genoese family called the Cata- 
luzzo. Its ruler at that time was Nicolo Cataluzzo. 
The Sultan arrived at Adramiti, opposite Mitylene, 
to which he could easily cross. The bombardment 
against the fort of Mitylene lasted 27 days, the walls 
were destroyed and then the governor proposed to 
surrender, on condition that the Sultan would spare 
his life. The proposition was accepted, and Prince 
Nicolo, with his brother, w^as sent to Constantinople ; 
but its inhabitants were treated with great in- 
humanity. The Sultan then turned his attention 
towards the Hellespont, where he erected two cas- 
tles, one on the European the other on the Asiatic 
side. He also built on one of the seven hills of Con- 
stantinople the mosque bearing his name — Sultan 
Mehmed, or Fatih Djamessi, After this he marched 
against Prince Stephen, of Bosna, the ally of the 
Venetians, who, with his son, were taken pris- 
oners ; and thus Bosnia became a Turkish province. 
The Venetians, fearing the loss of their Eastern pos- 
sessions, incited the Greeks of the Peloponnesus to 
revolt against the Ottoman power, and the hostilities 
which followed lasted sixteen years. In 1465 the 
Venenetians laid siege to Mitylene, but without suc- 
cess, except to rescue some of the inhabitants and 
convey them to Euboea. In 1466 Caramania was 
annexed to the Ottoman Empire, and those among 
its inhabitants who were ingenious workmen were 
sent by the Sultan to Constantinople. Iskender 
Bey, however, at the termination of his three years' 



88 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



treaty, began to disturb the Ottomans. Three dif- 
ferent expeditions were sent against him, and once 
the Sultan took the field himself, with an army of 
100,000 men, but without success. He was anxious 
to see the sword of Iskender Bey, sent for it, and 
perceiving that it was not remarkable either in ap- 
pearance or workmanship, he returned it, saying, 
that he himself owned better swords. Iskenber 
Bey replied that the sword only had been sent, not 
the hand which wielded it. He was born in 1403 and 
died at Lisso in 1467, having been distinguished in 
seventeen successive battles. The Turks, believing 
him to be more than mortal, divided his bones 
among themselves and wore them as amulets. 

Among superstitions of the Turks are the following : When 
one suffers from headache or erysipelas he consults an Emir (a 
descendant of Mohammed), who places his hand on the head 01 
the patient and with his thumb rubs his forehead, reads a few 
verses of the Koran, and, in order to expel the evil spirit, blows 
three^iimes on his forehead. Then a text of the Koran is written 
on a piece of paper, which is burned, and the sufferer inhales the 
smoke; or it is soaked in water, which he drinks; or it may be 
folded in a triangular shape and carried by him for several days. 
This is called Muska, or wrapped up paper. 

A physician cannot enter the harem except in cases of serious 
illness ; then he is called and accompanied to the bedside of the 
patient by an elderly woman or one of the eunuchs belonging to 
the palace. Whenever the women of the harem are vaccinated he 
is not allowed to see their faces, but a thin wooden partition is put 
up for that purpose and a hole cut in it, through which each one in 
turn passes her arm for treatment. The Turks also fear the " evil 
eye." Jugs placed around the edge of the roof, or an old shoe 
filled with garlic and blue beads are considered a guard against it. 

Whenever a pretty child is met upon the street the passer will 
say : " Oh, what an ugly child," or will spit toward it three times 
for fear of inciting the evil spirit against it. 

After the death of Iskender Bey the Sultan sub- 
dued Herzegovina and returned to Constantinople, 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



8 9 



where he built Tchini-Kiosk, which is now used as a 
museum. 

The Sultan, being continually troubled by the 
Venetians, resolved to conquer the island of Euboea, 
the center of the enemy's possessions in the Aegean 
Sea. The Admiral Mahmoud Pasha, with 300 vessels 
and 70,000 troops, proceeded to attack Euboea, while 
the Sultan, with his army encamped on the coast of 
Attica, opposite to the island. The Venetian Ad- 
miral Nicolo Kanali, fearing to enter the canal of 
Euboea with his 35 vessels, anchored at the Gulf of 
Saronicus, near Salamis ; in the meantime the Otto- 
mans bridged the strait with their vessels and landed 
on the island. Paolo Erizzo. its governor, and Louis 
Calvo, commander of the Venetian army, were men 
of great ability, but could do nothing as it was im- 
possible to get any assistance by sea. Five fearful 
assaults were made by the Ottomans, with great loss 
on both sides, but they were successful in the sixth 
attack, and not one of its defenders survived. In 
1470, its governor surrendered the Citadel on the 
condition of safety for the garrison, and for his own 
head. He discovered, however, that in the grant of 
immunity the savage spirit of the conqueror differed 
widely from its letter. His head was not touched, 
but his body was placed beneath the saw and he 
expired in torture. Mohammed threatened every 
soldier who spared a single person over twenty 
years of age, and the consequent slaughter was hor- 
rible ; the governor's daughter, the fair young Anne 
Erizzo, w^as taken as a prisoner to the Sultan's tent ; 
she refused dishonor and was killed by the slaves of 



go 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



the angry tyrant. (See Creasy, p. 90.) Thus 
Euboea, the most important island of the Aegean 
Sea, submitted to the sceptre of Mohammed, and 
through this he conquered all the other islands, their 
inhabitants meeting with the same fate. 

Soon after the Sultan marched against Ouzoun 
Hassan, subdued several ports, as well as Akserai, 
carrying its inhabitants to a quarter of Constanti- 
nople which has since been called Akserai. Ouzoun 
Hassan had been reared in the court of Tamerlane, 
trained from childhood in the art of war, and was 
proclaimed prince of the Turcoman race of the 
White Ram. In 1466 he destroyed the rival domin- 
ion of the Black Ram, subduing the province of 
Korassan, and followed this with a challenge to 
Sultan Mohammed. 

The Turkomans are divided into the two races of the White 
Ram and the Black Ram, so-called from the symbols upon their 
flags. 

Ouzoun Hassan attacked Tokat and captured it 
with great slaughter. In 1473, Sultan Mohammed 
and Ouzoun Hassan, with their respective armies, 
met in bloody combat near Sevastia ; the Ottomans 
were defeated, and many of them were taken prison- 
ers. Five months after this, the Sultan, at the head 
of a powerful army, defeated Ouzoun Hassan, who 
fled from the battle field with the loss of his son. 

In 1475, the island Limnos, which was occupied by 
the Venetians, was attacked by Suleyman Pasha. It 
was saved by a heroic Greek maid, named Manila, 
who, seeing her father fall dead while fighting, and 
being animated by a spirit of revenge and the love of 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



91 



liberty, took his sword and shield, rallied her country- 
men around her and encouraged them to fight. They 
were successful in repelling the Ottomans, and Suley- 
man Pasha was obliged to raise the seige and to leave. 
The commander of the island, hearing of this, in 
gratitude for Manila's services, gave her in marriage 
to a Venetian officer of noble birth, and she was 
richly endowed from the public treasury. 

In the same year the Roumelian governor, Suley- 
man Pasha, invaded Moldavia with 100,000 men, but 
was defeated. Meanwhile, the grand vizir, Ahmed 
Kedik Pasha, with a powerful fleet, sailed to the 
Black Sea and attacked Theodosia or Kaffa, a forti- 
fied town which surrendered in three days. The 
booty was of great value ; of its inhabitants, 40,000 
were transported to Constantinople, the most prom- 
inent being barbarously tortured and killed, and 1,500 
selected Genoese youths were compelled to enter the 
corps of Janizaries. (See Creasy, p. 90.) 

The Venetians endeavored to make a treaty with 
the Sultan, but he demanded that they should restore 
Croia, with other towns, and pay an annual tax of 
10,000 ducats, but the delegate not having the au- 
thority to conclude it, departed without result ; soon 
after, he returned and reported to the Sultan that 
the republic accepted his conditions. Mohammed 
replied that it was too late, and he demanded also 
the surrender of Scodra. Failing in this, the Sultan 
marched against Albania, subdued Croia, Lisso, and 
other forts, but did not succeed in capturing Scodra. 
On his return to Constantinople he found a Venetian 
delegate, awaiting him to complete a treaty, promis- 



92 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY 



ing that Scodra with the other towns should be 
restored. 

In 1479 the Ottoman army invaded Transylvania, 
with little result ; in the meantime the Sultan cap- 
tured Zante and Santa Maura ; but their prince, 
Leonardo, had fled to the north of Italy, Ahmed 
Kedik Pasha sailed thither and subdued Otranto 
near Brindisi, after fourteen days' struggle. Its 
governor was sawed in two, many of the inhabitants 
were inhumanly massacred, and a great number of 
the youth of both sexes were taken to Constanti- 
nople. 

An Ottoman fleet, consisting of over 100 ves- 
sels, under Messih Pasha, a Greek by birth, went 
in 1480, to besiege Rhodes, which was under the con- 
trol of the Knights of John's regiment of Jerusalem, 
and after two months desperate resistance returned 
to the Hellespont. 

It is a remarkable fact that the Sultans, who were so successful 
in extending- the Ottoman power in all directions, were in almost 
every case the sons of Christian mothers. 

In the spring of 148 1, the Sultan prepared for an 
expedition against Egypt, but at Nicomedia, death 
put an end to his career of conquest and cruelty. He 
conquered, beside Constantinople and Trebizond, 
twelve kingdoms and two hundred towns. He swore 
that he would trample with his horse all the altars 
of Christ, and destroy the Christian religion. Ac- 
cording to the Ottoman historians, Sultan Moham- 
med II., after the capture of Constantinople, turned 
twelve Christian churches into Mohammedan mos- 
ques. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



93 



The floors of the Mohammedan mosques are covered with Egypt- 
ian straw mattings and Turkish rugs, and the worshipper on en- 
tering is obliged to take off his shoes, but if he is of the better 
class, slippers are given to him by the papoutchis or shoe keepers. 

He had three sons, Mustafa of Caramania, who 
died before his father ; Bayezid, his successor, and 
Jem, who attempted to take the throne by force of 
arms. He spoke the Turkish, Slavonian and Greek 
languages fluently. According to the Ottoman histori- 
ans, Sultan Mohammed was called a parrot on account 
of his hooked nose. He had the Tartar complexion, 
hollow eyes with a piercing expression, and masked 
his deceit with a polite manner. He was a man with 
no redeeming virtue, a vicious and sensual tyrant, 
possessing the perfidy which inflicted cruelty upon 
suffering humanity without the least remorse. 



IX. 

SULTAN BAYEZID II. 
1481-1512. 

Bayezid was at Amassia, when he was officially 
informed of his father's death. The Janizaries hear- 
ing of Mohammed's decease, revolted and killed the 
grand vizir, who wished to conceal it until the arrival 
of Bayezid. 

Dispatches had also been sent to Prince Jem, of 
Caramania, but the messenger was slain on the way 
and Bayezid reached Constantinople first. On his 
arrival the chieftains of the Janizaries presented 
themselves to him, asked his pardon for their con- 



94 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



duct, and for the customary distribution of the Bak- 
shish ; both requests were granted. 

The distribution of these Imperial gifts, on each accession to 
the throne, which had become burdensome to the treasury, was 
abolished by Abdul-Hamid I. 

On his arrival, the corpse of his father, Mohammed 
II., was interred in the mosque built by him. Baye- 
zid ascended the throne at the age of thirty-four. 
% Isaac Pasha, a converted Albanian, was appointed 
grand vizir and at once took vigorous measures 
against Prince Jem, who had already collected an 
army, defeated Ayaz Pasha, captured Brusa and 
proclaimed himself Sultan. Soon after this pro- 
clamation he sent to his brother, Bayezid, demanding 
that the Empire should be divided into two parts, 
the Asiatic to be given to him. This was answered 
in the negative. The two brothers met on the bat- 
tlefield, Jem was defeated and fled to Egypt, where 
he was kindly received ; from thence he visited the 
holy cities of Medina and Mecca. 

Mecca is visited annually by Hadjis, or Pilgrims from all parts 
of Asia, for the Koran enjoins every Mussulman, if possible, to 
make this pilgrimage at least once in his life time. Women are 
not excluded from doing so but the law prescribes that they must 
be accompanied by their husbands, or a male relative. 

Jem returned to Cairo, and in 1482, assisted by 
the Egyptian ruler, made another attempt to seize 
his ancestral throne, but was defeated and again 
sought safety in flight to Europe. He applied to 
Fra Pietro D'Aubusson, grand master of Rhodes, 
who received him with his suite, and transferred 
him to Charles VIII., of France; thence he was 
sent to Italy, where he was afterwards poisoned by 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



95 



Alexander Borgia, successor of Pope Innocent VIII. 
It was rumored that he received a bribe of 300,000 
ducats from the Sultan for this infamous deed. A 
formal embassy was sent by Bayezid to ask for his 
remains, which were buried at Brusa. In 148 1, 
Sultan Bayezid proclaimed war against Italy and 
Hungary with success. In 1483, the Sultan con- 
cluded a treaty of peace for five years with Mathias 
Corvinus, of Hungary, then crossed the Danube, 
entered Wallachia, where he was offered an annual 
tax and 20,000 soldiers. In 1485 Bayezid proceeded 
to carry out the wish of his father, Mohammed II., 
which was to conquer Egypt, but was unsuccessful 
and peace was concluded. 

In 1492 the Czar Ivan III. sent a letter to Baye- 
zid, and proposed diplomatic relations between the 
two empires ; in 1495, the first Russian Envoy, 
Michael Pletschieff, came to Constantinople, asking 
the Sultan to give commercial privileges to the Rus- 
sian merchants in the Ottoman Empire, but as 
Michael did not conform with the court usages of 
the Turks, he returned without result, and was suc- 
ceeded by Alexios Golokvastov, who came to Cons- 
tantinople, was received cordially by the Sultan and 
his request was granted. This is recorded as the 
first diplomatic relations between the Ottomans and 
the Russians. 

The Imperial Ottoman Divan or Council assembled four times 
a week, on Monday, Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday, under the 
presidency of the Sultan ; Friday was observed as a day of prayer, 
Wednesday and Thursday were days of rest. The army consisted 
at this time of 63,000 men, while the fleet of 260 galleys was ready 
to sail at any moment. 



9 6 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



The peace between the Venetians and the Sultan 
was of short duration, on account of the many intri- 
gues of other ambassadors to the Sublime Porte. 
In June, 1499, the Sultan, with Mustafa Beylerbey, 
of Roumeli, a Greek by birth, and an army of 150,- 
000 left Constantinople to attack Lepanto, while the 
Admiral Daoud Pasha, proceeded with the fleet in 
the same direction. After a strong resistance Le- 
panto was taken. The Sultan returned to Constant- 
inople, while the fleet wintered at Corinth. 

The Venetians soon after subdued Cephalonia and 
Preveza, which belonged to the Ottomans. The 
European rulers were alarmed at the progress of the 
Ottoman power, and coalition was formed between 
Rome, Venice, France, Hungary and Spain for an 
attack. They besieged Mitylene for twenty days. 
The Sultan being enraged set Ersek Ahmed Pasha 
and Kemal Reis to defend the island ; the admirals 
of the combined fleet not receiving the assistance of 
the knights qf Rhodes in proper time raised the 
siege and left ; on their way a fearful storm destroy- 
ed a greater part of the French vessels. Another 
French fleet, with the Venetian, subdued the island 
Maura. 

In the same year a disastrous fire broke out at 
Galata, opposite Constantinople, during which the 
Sheikh-ul-Islam and the grand vizir were killed by 
the explosion of a gun-powder magazine ; and Ali 
Pasha was appointed his successor. The Sultan 
wished to end the European wars, therefore con- 
cluded a treaty with the Venetians. Meanwhile an 
insurrection broke out in Caramania, which was 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 97 

quelled by the ex-grand vizir, Messih Pasha. In 
1509, Korkud, eldest son of the Sultan, under the 
pretext of visiting the cities of Mecca and Medina, 
went to Egpyt, and although he was received 
courteously by its ruler, he was refused any assist- 
ance in revolting against his father, the Sultan. The 
prince having failed in his unfilial venture, implored 
the grand vizir to intercede with his father to restore 
him again to the throne of Kilikia, which was granted 
by Bayezid. 

In September of the same year fearful earthquakes 
occurred in and about Constantinople, which d d 
much damage to the city. Thousands of people were 
buried under the ruins. Earthquakes as destructive 
as this occurred in Constantinople in 416, 446, 477, 
558, 741, 791, 869, 1011, 1286, 1344, 1509, 1766, 1802,. 
1855 and 1894. The Sultan renewed his treaties 
with Venice, Hungary and Poland ; he distributed 
the provinces Caramania, Teke, Amassia and Trebi- 
zond respectively to his sons, Shahinshah, Korkud, 
Aimed and Selim. After much intrigue the Sultan 
was compelled by his son Selim to abdicate, and on 
the 7th of May, 15 12, the deposed monarch retired 
to Didimotico, to pass the rest of his life in quiet. 
He was succeeded by his unnatural son Selim, who, 
in June of the same year, caused his father to be 
poisoned. He had eight sons, five of whom died in 
their father's lifetime. Shahinshah, who left a son 
named Osman, who left three, Musa, Orchan and 
Emin, Mahommed and Abdullah. The three living 
sons were Selim, the eldest, and his successor, who 
had but one son named Suleyman ; Prince Korkud, 



98 OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 

who was childless, and Prince Ahmed, who had four 
sons, named Allahuddin, Murad, Suleyman and Os- 
man, and seven daughters, several of whom were 
married. 

Sultan Bayezid was mild and gentle in dispo- 
sition, stout and of a robust constitution, wit^i a 
hooked nose like that of his father, Mahommed II. 
He was called by some historians " Sofu," or wise, 
and was justly regarded as one of the wisest and 
most illustrious sovereigns of Turkey, being a patron 
of education and the sciences. He erected a mosque 
in Constantinople bearing his name, " Sultan Baye- 
zid Djamessi," also a mosque in Adrianopole, and 
other edifices. In addition to these, ten other 
Christian churches were changed by him into 
Mohammedan mosques. He was the son of Valide 
Giul-bahar-kadin, a French lady who was captured 
by pirates on the borders of Palestine, and, for her 
rare beauty, sent as a gift to Sultan Mohammed II. 
According to the historians, she was of the royal 
family of Bourbon. During her lifetime the French 
ambassadors were received with special favor at the 
Ottoman court. (Scarlato Byzantius, Vol. I, p. 133.) 



X. 

SULTAN SELIM I., YAVOUZ. 

1 5 12-1520. 

Selim L, surnamed Yavouz, or the cruel, so called 
in consequence of his cruelties, was born in 1467. 
On his accession to the throne he tried to abolish the 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



99 



custom of Bakshish to the Janizaries, but finally, in 
order to avoid disturbances, gave the presents on a 
larger scale. In consequence of this the inhabitants 
of the Empire, without any distinction, were heavily 
taxed. The Sultan appointed his brothers Ahmed 
and Korkud, governors of Amassia and Saruhan. 




Sultan Selim I. Yavouz. 



The Island of Mitylene was also assigned to 
the former. Subsequently Allah-ud-din, the son of 
Ahmed, was incited by his father to seize Brusa. 
This rash action angered the Sultan, who at once 
gave orders to his son Suleyman, that the Asiatic 



IOO 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



coast should be closely guarded, so that none of the 
royal princes could escape. He crossed to Asia, and 
after quelling the revolt returned to Constantinople, 
where he deposed and strangled the grand vizir 
Mustafa Pasha, and in his stead appointed Ersek 
Ahmed Pasha. The next instance of the Sultan's 
barbarity was the execution of his brothers and 
nephews in a most atrocious manner, which occurred 
in November, 15 12. These five unfortunate princes 
had been left in the care of some of the chiefs of 
Brusa. The eldest, Osman, son of Prince Allemshah, 
was twenty years old, and the youngest, Mahommed. 
son of Prince Shahinshah, was only seven. Jani- 
zaries was sent by the Sultan to take them to the 
palace and seclude them. The next day a fearful 
tragedy w r as enacted there, of which their uncle, Sul- 
tan Selim, from an adjoining apartment, was a cool 
and unmerciful spectator. He ordered his mutes to 
strangle them, and as they proceeded to carry out 
his infamous commands, the youngest of the captives, 
a mere child, fell upon his knees and piteously 
begged for his life. But his pleadings were of no 
avail with this monster of cruelty. The eldest of 
the victims, Prince Osman, who well knew that 
there was no hope for them, rushed upon the 
assassins and fought bravely. One of the mutes was 
killed by him, another had his arm broken. Selim 
then entered the room, to assist in this bloody deed. 
Finally they were overpowered, and bowed quietly 
to the fate which they were unable to avoid. They 
were strangled and their bodies were interred near 
the sepulchre of Murad II., in Brusa. (See Creasy, p. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



IOI 



130.) Prince Korkud, who at first had led a peaceful 
life, revolted against the Sultan, was compelled to 
flee with his faithful attendant, Piali, and took shelter 
in an obscure cave for twenty days. From thence 
he fled in disguise to a Teke or convent, where he 
prepared to escape to Europe; but some Turcomans, 
recognizing the harness of his horse, informed the 
governor, Kassim Bey, who sent him to the Sultan, 
in Brusa, where he was executed. Previous to his 
execution Prince Korkud begged for a short reprieve, 
during which he wrote a touching poem, v/hich 
caused the impetuous Sultan to shed tears, but it 
was in vain. Selim also put to death the Turcomans 
who had guided ? the pursuers of Korkud to his 
hiding place, and who afterward came to Brusa to 
ask a reward for their services. After this event 
Prince Ahmed took up arms against the Sultan, but 
he was defeated near Yeni-Shehir, fell from his horse, 
was taken prisoner and executed. 

The Sultan then visited the forts of the Helles- 
pont, and proceeded as far as Athos, or Hagios 
Oros, so called for its number of Greek and Russian 
convents; thence went to Constantinople, where he 
received the envoys of Moldavia, Wallachia, Hun- 
gary, Venice, and of Egypt. 

After this, the Emperor of Russia, Vasili, sent to 
the Sultan, desiring to renew their commercial trea- 
ties, requesting also the punishment of the Poles and 
Tartars, who were annoying the Russian frontiers. 
Selim consented to the former request, but refused 
to punish the invaders. 



102 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



The Shah Ishmael, the Sefevi of Persia, who had 
protected the three sons of Ahmed, had not sent an 
envoy to Constantinople with congratulations to the 
new Sultan. For this reason Selim was angry, and 
decided to march against him. His son, Suleyman, 
governor of Magnesia, was called to take charge of 
the Empire. Then, after prayer at the mosque of 
Eyoub, he crossed to Scutari on the 7th of May, 
1 5 14, and arrived at Sivas with an army of 140,000. 
From thence the Ottoman army entered the valley 
of Chaldiran and met the Persian troops. The latter 
were totallv defeated, after a brave resistance. The 
Shah was wounded, fell from his horse, and was only 
saved from instant death by the devotion of his fol- 
lower, Mirza Ali, who exclaimed, " I am the Shah." 
Instantly the Shah was placed upon the horse of his 
attendant, Khizel, and fled to Daghestan, leaving his 
favorite harem an unwilling gift to the Sultan. 

In September, 15 14, the Sultan entered Tauris and 
massacred many of its inhabitants, selecting about 
1,000 of the most skilful artisans to send to Constan- 
tinople ; thence he marched northwards towards 
Carabagh, to winter on the plains of Azerbijan, but 
the Janizaries revolted and compelled him to return. 
The grand vizir Mustafa, a Greek, sympathized with 
them. He was removed, and Teftedar Piri Pasha 
was appointed instead. On his return, the Sultan 
subdued Ezirguan, wintered at Amassia, and in the 
following August he returned to Constantinople, 
leaving in Asia the historian Idriz, and Beikli 
Mehmed to complete the conquest of Mesopotamia 
and Kurdistan. He gave orders to all the pashas to 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 1 03 

collect a fleet of 500 vessels and to build an arsenal 
at their own expense. This order was instantly 
obeyed by them, under the supervision of Piri 
Pasha. This arsenal still exists on the same spot ; it 
has since been enlarged, and contains all the modern 
improvements. 

An anecdote is told of Piri Pasha after his appointment as grand 
vizir. Realizing that the Sultan at any moment might condemn 
him to death, he said to his sovereign, " I know that your Majesty, 
earlier or later, may put me to death, therefore I pray you to notify 
me a few hours before the execution, so that I can arrange my per- 
sonal matters and prepare myself for the next world." The Sultan 
laughingly replied, " It is true that I thought of it long ago, but I 
cannot find a better man for the position you now hold, otherwise 
it would not be difficult to comply with your request." (Scarloto, 
p. 397, Vol. II.) 

The Ottoman generals, Beikli Mehmed and Idriz, 
the historian, had subdued many strong forts, also 
the city of Bagdad, with the greater part of Mesopo- 
tamia and Kurdistan. 

The Kurds, the Turcomans and the Bedouins lead a nomadic 
life. They move their herds from place to place, attacking and 
robbing any unfortunate traveler or caravan whom they chance to 
meet. They pride themselves upon their fine horses and their fire- 
arms. The attire of a Kurdish chief in the field is a steel corselet 
for his breast, inlaid with gold and silver ; a small wooden shield, 
studded with brass nails, hangs over his shoulder. His page, who 
is also mounted, carries his lance ; a carabine is slung across his 
back; in his girdle he carries pistols and a dagger, a light scimitar 
hangs by his side. On the right side of the saddle is a small case, 
holding three darts ; on the left of the saddle bow there is a mace, 
the most deadly of all his weapons. 

Selim hearing of the alliance of the Sultan of 
Egypt and the Shah of Persia, resolved to declare 
war against them, and in September, 1516, they met 
on the field of Ma'rj Dabik ; after a short engage- 
ment, the Egyptians fled and their Sultan, Kansu- 
El-Ghuri, an old man, eighty years old died in his 



104 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



flight. The Ottomans found many treasures on the 
deserted battlefield. Soon after the Sultan cap- 
tured Aleppo, Damascus and Jerusalem. The last 
mentioned city was taken by the Romans 70 A. D. ; 
by the Arabs in 637 A. D. ; by the Crusaders, 1099- 
by the Turks, 15 17, and they still possess it. The 
Mamelukes of Egypt assembled in Cairo, and 
elected a new Sultan, Tuman Bey, to whom Selim 
sent delegates proposing peace, on condition that he 
should acknowledge the Ottoman authority. The 
ruler of Egypt received the envoys cordially but 
rejected the proposition ; afterwards his general, 
Alan Bey, beheaded them without the knowledge of 
his master, and thus war became enevitable. The 
grand vizir, Sinan Pasha, defeated the Egyptians 
near Gaza. In another engagement the Egyptians 
were totally defeated, and Cairo was captured after 
a stubborn resistance ; nearly 50,000 of its inhabi- 
tants perished in the atrocious butchery which took 
place in the presence of Sultan Selim. After this 
the Egyptian army was dispersed, Tuman Bey was 
betrayed into the hands of Selim, and executed ; thus 
Egpyt was annexed to the Ottoman empire. Sultan 
Selim remained in Egypt for some time, where he 
received the title of Caliph, or vicar of the prophet 
of God, which was conferred upon him by Moham- 
med, the twelfth Caliph, and the last descendant of 
Abbas, uncle of Mohammed. He returned to Con- 
stantinople, organized a fleet for an expedition 
against Rhodes; but in September, 1520, on his way 
to Adrianople he died at Tchorlu from the effect 
of a pestilential boil on the spine. His death was 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



105 



kept secret until the arrival of his son and successor, 
Prince Suleyman, from Magnesia. 

Sultan Selim had only one son, but many daugh- 
ters, nearly all of whom were married. He was tall 
in stature, and contrary to the custom of his prede- 
cessors, his chin was closely shaved, but he wore a 
long black mustache, which, with his heavy dark 
eyebrows, contributed to give him a very fierce 
aspect, impressing with awe all who saw him. His 
complexion was red, his eyes large and piercing, 
and instead of a cylindrical turban he wore a round 
one, called Selimie, imitating, as he said, the crown 
of the Persian King Hozroy. He was active and 
warlike, irritable and severe in disposition. His 
reign was one of almost ceaseless carnage, and ac- 
cording to the Turkish tradition, any one wishing 
the death of another, would say, " May you ever be 
the grand vizir of Sultan Selim." This was occa- 
sioned by the fact that almost every grand vizir in 
succession was beheaded a short time after his ap- 
pointment. He was interred in the mosque bearing 
his name, Selimieh, which was unfinished at the time 
of his death, and afterwards completed by his son 
Suleyman. 

He threatened to kill all of his Christian subjects 
unless they embraced Islamism, which would have 
been carried into effect had it not been for the 
Greek Patriarch, assisted and advised by his friends 
the grand vizir Peri Pasha and the Sheikh-ul-Islam 
Djemali, who with great difficulty persuaded the 
Sultan not to do so. In return the Sultan took the 
church edifices which remained and turned them 
into mosques. 



io6 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



The Turks are addicted to heinous and brutal assaults and other 
outrages at any time the opportunity is presented. Their ideas of 
politics and of law are framed to suit the occasion, often with the 
greatest injustice. Whenever there are cases in court to be tried, 
witnesses can be readily hired in the coffee shops under the Minis- 
try of Justice. These hired witnesses who make a business of 
their testimony, are well known in court, but for some reason that 
never destroys the character of their testimony. They have no 
patriotism and are easily bribed. Pride, self conceit, treachery 
and hostility to Christianity are the distinctive characteristics of 
all Turks. They are charitable to the poor, but they are false to 
their friends and ungrateful to their benefactors. A Turk cannot 
be found who will keep his word, when it will be to his interest to 
break it. Equality, either social or political, is unknown between 
the Turks and the Christians, for it is utterly at variance with all 
the teachings of Mohammedanism. 



XL 

SULTAN SULEYMAN I., THE MAGNIFICENT. 
I 520-1 566. 

Suleyman j tj surnamed by the Ottomans, Kanouni, 
or Law Giver; and by the Europeans the Magnifi- 
cent, ascended the throne at the age of twenty-three. 
The funeral of his father, Sultan Selim, took place 
on his arrival, the coffin being carried by the Pashas 
on their shoulders. 

The Turks hurry themselves only in the presence of death, 
After the corpse has received the necessary ablutions, it is quickly 
sent to the cemetery preceded by Mollahs who intone verses 
from the Koran, and followed by a number of people who crowd 
around to alternate in bearing the coffin on their shoulders, even 
for a moment. The corpse is always placed upon its side in the 
grave, so as to face Mecca and the East, and is hastily covered. 
Scutari and Eyoub are the two cemeteries where wealthy and 
pious Mussulmen are buried. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



I07 



After his accession to the throne, he distributed 
the customary bakshish to the Janizaries, reducing 
it to one-third of the usual amount, and increased 




Janizaries carrying a kettle of soup. 

the compensation of his army. He returned the 
confiscated goods of the Persian merchants, and 
allowed them to remain for commercial purposes. 



ioS 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



In 1 52 1 hostilities commenced between Turkey 
and Hungary. The Sultan captured Szarvas, and 
also Belgrade, turning its cathedral into a mosque, 
and carrying a part of its inhabitant^ tqja suburb of 
Constantinople which ha£ since been named Belgrade. 
The Sultan returned in triumph to Constantinople, 
where three of his children, Mahmoud, Murad, and 
a daughter, died of small pox. Aftei* thit, Suleyman 
resolved to capture Rhodes, which had belonged to 
the Knights of St. John for over two centuries. 

In July, 1522, the Ottoman fleet went to attack 
Rhodes, the Sultan with an army of 100,000 troops 
went to the opposite coast. Previous to the expedi- 
tion, however, he had sent a letter to the grand 
master of the order, Villiers-de-l'Isle-Adam, a vener- 
able French knight, proposing to him to surrender 
the island, promising also security of life and property, 
but it was not accepted. 

The Sultan landed there and the siege began on 
the 9th of August and lasted until January 2, 1523, 
with great loss on both sides. The brave knights, 
inspired by religious enthusiasm and assisted by the 
native Greeks, fought bravely, but finally being 
reduced to great extremity surrendered on con- 
dition that they should be allowed to leave in safety 
within twelve days, which was readily granted. 

The Sultan returned to Constantinople in February, 
1523, when he heard of the death of his son Abdullah 
and the birth of another called Mahmoud. In the 
same year the grand vizir, Piri Pasha, resigned, and 
Ibrahim Pasha, an intimate friend of the Sultan, was 
appointed his successor. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



Ibrahim Pasha was the son of a Christian sailor at Parga, in 
Epirus. He was taken prisoner by the pirates in the sixteenth 
year "of his age and sold to an Ottoman lady in Magnesia, who 
educated him ; he was afterwards taken into the family of the 
young prince Suleyman, the governor, but through the intrigues 
of Mahpeiker, one of the Sultan's wives, he was beheaded in 
March, 1536, after fourteen years' service. Besides the Ottoman 
language he spoke the Greek, Persian and Italian fluently. 

The appointment of Ibrahim Pasha to the office of 
grand vizir displeased Ahmed Pasha, who, having 
obtained the governorship of Egypt, caused himself, 
in January, 1524, to be proclaimed Sultan of that 
country. Suleyman being angered by the conduct 
of Ahmed Pasha marched against him, captured and 
executed him ; Giuzeldje Kassim Pasha was then 
appointed the governor of Egypt, for whom a village 
near the arsenal of Constantinople was named. 

In June, 1524, the Sultan celebrated with great 
pomp the marriage of his sister to his beloved Grand 
Vizir Ibrahim. Another son, Selim, was born to the 
Sultan about this time. He went to spent the winter 
in Adrianople, but was compelled to return to Con- 
stantinople because of a revolt among the Janizaries, 
which was quelled. He marched against Persia, and 
sent a letter to the Shah Tamasp, son of the deceased 
Shah Ismael, insisting upon his submission. The Shah 
did not reply but implored the assistance of Hungary 
and Germany ; this induced the Sultan to march first 
against these countries. With a powerful arm}' he 
met the Hungarians on the 28th of August, 1526, 
near the valley Mohacz ; the struggle was sanguinary 
and ruinous to the latter ; the loss was great, over 
20,000 were killed, among whom was their King, 
Louis II. 



IIO OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 

In September the Sultan entered the cities of Buda 

and Pesth without any resistance, where 100,000 

Christians, men, women and little children were 

taken to Constantinople and sold in the Avrat- 

Bazaar, or the Turkish slave market, and after a life 

of tyranny and suffering they passed into the grave, 

far from home and kindred. (See Creasy, 165-166.) 

The treasures of the palace of Mathias Corvinus and 

its famous library were conveyed to the Seraglio in 

Constantinople. 

In the year 1574, the famous library of Mathias Corvinus with 
his treasures as well as the priceless contents of the Seraglio were 
destroyed by fire. The present collection is much more recent, it 
includes robes of state decorated with gold and precious stones ; 
maces, daggers, aigrettes, emeralds and gems of immense size ; 
the keys of conquered cities; the sabre of Mohammed II., which 
is a short, straight blade of Damascus, having an inscription of 
Arabic letters in gold ; a battered sword of iron, once ustd by the 
renowned Iskender Bey, and an enameled armlet of Tamerlane. 
Among the articles of great interest were the kettles, belonging to 
the Janizaries, which, when found turned bottom upwards while 
in use, was always a sign of revolt. 

The Sultan then proclaimed John Zappolio gov- 
ernor of Buda Pesth, and returned to Constantino- 
ple, but in 1528 he marched again against Hungary, 
in consequence of the expulsion of Zappolio by Fer- 
dinand, the King of Austria. Zappolio had sent an 
envoy to ask the assistance 'of the Porte, who re- 
turned with the verbal promise of help from the 
Sultan. 

In May of the following year, Suleyman, with an 
army of 250,000 troops and 300 guns, arrived at 
Buda; on the way he met John Zappolio with his 
suite. The city after five days' resistance yielded, 
and the Turks for a few days luxuriated in their 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



I I I 



own fashion, indulging in riots and brutal outrages. 
Finally Zappolio was officially proclaimed king. 

The Sultan marched against Vienna, which was 
besieged for fifteen days ; its brave garrison consist- 
ing of 20,000 men and seventy-two guns repulsed all 
the assaults of the Ottomans, and on the night of the 
14th of October the besiegers were compelled to 
withdraw on account of severe cold and lack of pro- 
visions. Thus the Austrian capital was saved by the 
heroism and endurance of her defenders. During 
the siege of Vienna, the Turkish troops ravaged its 
suburbs, and the unfortunate inhabitants were driven 
from their homes, with great slaughter and the most 
horrible outrages to unprotected women, while the 
fairest children were taken into slavery. (See 
Creasy, p. 170.) 

After this, the ancient crown of the Kings of 
Hungary, which the Ottomans had taken at Buda, 
was bestowed upon Zappolio by Sule}^man. 

In three months' time, an envoy was sent from 
Austria to Constantinople to demand a restoration 
of the subdued provinces from the Ottomans. A 
negative reply was given by the grand vizir, after 
which the army of Ferdinand attempted to retake 
Buda, but was unsuccessful. 

The Sultan, inspired with the bigotry of Islam, on 
the principle that as there is but one God in heaven, 
therefore there should be but one power on earth, 
and that must be Suleyman himself. Consequently, 
the Sultans of Turkey have always considered 
the European rulers as regents acting under their 
CDntrol, and by their permission. 



112 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



In May, 1532, the Sultan with a powerful army 
marched against Germany ; but as Charles V. did 
not take the field against him, he plundered Styria 
and returned to Constantinople. 

The fleet of Charles, under the command of Ad- 
miral Andrea Doria, attacked the coast of Pelopon- 
nesus, took Koron, Patras, and Naupactus, with 
other forts erected by Sultan Bayezid II. 

Suleyman, wishing to march against Persia, com- 
plied with the demands of the delegates of Ferdi- 
nand, and concluded a five years' treaty of peace. 

In October, 1533, the grand vizir went to Aleppo 
to winter there and subdued meanwhile several 
neighboring forts, among which was the strong fort- 
ress of Van, and then recaptured Tauris. After this, 
the Sultan crossed to Asia, arrived at Konieh, and 
then went through Tauris to Bagdad, with great 
difficulty on account of the bad roads, which were 
under the management of Tefterdar Scender Be)^. 
He was reprimanded, lost his position, and in conse- 
quence of this, he and his father-in-law, Hussien 
Tchelebi, died from broken hearts, caused by the 
disgrace. Besides his treasures, he had 7,000 slaves, 
selected Christian youths, who had been torn from 
their parents. These were taken by Suleyman, 
guarded by his white eunuchs, educated by the Im- 
perial government and trained for its service Sev- 
eral of them afterwards arose to the rank of Pasha, 
one of whom was Mohammed Socoli, a Slavonian 
and the last grand vizir of Sultan Suleyman. 

During the expedition against Persia, the Otto- 
man fleet of eighty-four vessels under Admiral 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



113 



Haereddin Barbarossa, met near Tunis, that of 
Charles V., commanded by Andrea Doria consisting 
of 500 large and small galleys. 

The Admiral Haereddin Barbarossa was a native of the island 
of Mitylene, and engaged in a number of piratical expeditions. 
He finally acquired the control of Algeria, and seeking a powerful 
protector, acknowledged the sovereignty of Sulcan Sehm, who in- 
vited him to Constantinople, and in 1539 he was appointed Ad- 
miral of the Ottoman navy and distinguished himself in many 
naval battles. He died in July, 1549, and was buried at Besh- 
istash, leaving a large legacy to his son Hassen Bey, who succeeded 
him. He owned 2,000 Christian youths, 800 of which were 
presented to the Sultan, and 200 to the ex-grand vizir, Rustem 
Pasha, son-in-law of the Sultan. (See Scarlato, Byzantius, Vol. II., 
p. 96.) 

The next spring Suleyman marched against Per- 
sia, while Haereddin, with a fleet of eighty-four ves- 
sels, sailed to the coast of Italy, attacked the towns 
of Reggio, Citraro, Sperlonga and Fondi ; thence 
went to Tunis, of which Muley Hassan was the gov- 
ernor, and captured it. 

Andrea Doria then attacked Tunis, defeated Haer- 
eddin, and with the assistance of Charles V., the 
Moorish prince, Muley Hassan, was again placed on 
the throne. 

After the Sultan's return to Constantinople he 
concluded a commercial treaty with the King of 
France ; this was the last official act of the grand 
vizir Ibrahim Pasha, who after his death was suc- 
ceeded by Ayaz Pasha. 

Ayaz Pasha, an Albanian captive, was an unlearned but a brave 
and active man. He died in July, 1539, leaving 125 children. He 
was converted to Islamism during his captivity, and had three 
brothers who were priests and lived with their mother at Avlona. 

The Sultan, with Haereddin Pasha, attacked and 
captured Otranto, as well as other strong forts on 



H4 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



the Italian coast. After this the fleet sailed to 
Corfu, a Venetian possession, which was mercilessly 
ravaged during the admiral's stay of ten days, and 
many of its inhabitants were taken captives ; nearly 
all the islands of the Aegean Sea were subsequently 
captured by Haereddin. 

The combined Christian fleet, under the command 
of Doria, sailed near the Gulf of Prevesa ; there 
Haereddin met them, and in September, 1538, a 
naval combat took place in which the latter was 
victorious. 

In 1539 Constantinople was devasted by the 

plague, and soon after a large fire broke out by 

which much property was destroyed. 

Twelve disastrous fires broke out during the years 1539,1569,. 
1589, 1626, 1633, 1645, 1 7° 2 j l 73 1 ' l 7$ l > I 755> 1782, 1870, each of 
which consumed a large part of the capital, and many lives were 
lost. Few cities have suffered more from fire than Constantinople. 
There are two fire towers on the highest points on each side of the 
Golden Horn. One of these is an old Genoese fortification in 
Galata ; the other is a Turkish structure in Stamboul, rather effect- 
ive than otherwise, as it stands several hundred feet above the. 
water. In the galleries of these towers watchmen walk day and 
night, field glass in hand, On the discovery of a fire in the day- 
time a red ball is hoisted from a flag staff ; at night it is a red lan- 
tern, and guns are fired from a battery on the hill of Candilly on 
the Asiatic side of the Bosphorus. Nobetchis, or runners, dressed 
in red shirts, holding spears, are sent throughout the city and its. 
suburbs and give the alarm to all the police stations, where the 
Begtchis, or district watchmen, learn the location of the fire and 
call attention to it by beating on the pavement with iron shod 
staves and call out " Yangun Vaar Stambolda," or "There is a fire 
in Stamboul." As soon as the alarm is given the fire engines are 
taken to the scene of action, but they are of little use for they are 
only three feet square, small enough to be carried on the shouldei s 
of firemen, who rush furiously through the narrow streets stripped 
to the waist and screaming like maniacs. The firemen receive no 
pay excepting a bakshish at the New Year from the inhabitants cf 
the village to which they belong, and are allowed to have certain 
other privileges. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 1 1 5 

The grand vizir and the pashas are required to be present at all 
large fires in Constantinople in order to encourage the firemen and 
superintend their work in extinguishing the conflagration. The 
announcement of the fire is made to the Sultan after he has retired 
into his harem in this manner : As soon as the news reaches the 
palace, a young Odalisque to whom the duty has been assigned, 
will array herself in a scarlet robe which covers the entire figure, 
with a turban of the same color. She will then go to his room, 
and, entering it, stands before his Majesty without uttering a word, 
for the scarlet costume is a sufficient explanation of her appear- 
ance there. The Sultan is thus apprised of the situation and ascer- 
tains at once the location of the fire. 

A war against Hungary and Austria had com- 
menced for the following reasons : Louis Gritti had 
received the crown of Hungary from the Sultan 
through the influence of John Zappolio, who after- 
wards assassinated him, but the murder was at- 
tributed to Ferdinand of Austria. He sent dele- 
gates to the Sultan asking to have the treaty carried 
out and the restoration of the dowry of Queen 
Mary, but the grand vizir replied that the death of 
Gritti had released the Sultan from any obligation in 
the matter. A secret alliance had been concluded 
between Ferdinand and Zappolio, which enraged 
the Sultan greatly. In the meantime Zappolio had 
died and Ferdinand applied to the Sultan for the 
crown of Hungary, but the Sultan had acknowledged 
John, the infant son of Isabella, the young widow of 
Zappolio, as the heir. Ferdinand besieged Buda, 
and Isabella implored the Sultan's assistance, who 
instantly prepared to attack him. Meanwhile the 
sanguinary war between Charles V. of Germany and 
Francis of France still continued. Francis asked the 
Sultan to help him and the Admiral Haereddin was 
ordered to do so, while the Sultan, with his army, 

9 



ii6 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



arrived at Buda. The infant son of Queen Isabella, 
only one year old, was presented to the Sultan, who 
promised to restore Buda when he should attain his 
majority. He then appointed an Ottoman governor 
there. 

Haereddin Pasha went to aid Francis I., sailed to 
Messina, subdued it, thence to Marseilles, where he 
was received with great honors. The Ottoman 
fleet of 150 vessels was combined with that of France, 
forty in number, and attacked Nice, which soon sur- 
rendered. 

In this epoch there were two distinguished Otto- 
mans, Mehmed Pasha Socoli, afterwards grand 
vizir ; and Ebousououd, who for thirty years was 
the Sheikh-ul-Islam. 

In 1550 the Sultan laid the foundation of the mag- 
nificent mosque bearing his name — Suleymanie — 
which is still standing. 

The mosque of Sultan Suleyman I. was constructed in 1550- 
1556 out of the debris of the church of St. Euphemia of Calsedon 
(modern Kadikeui), by Sinan, a famous Turkish architect. Suley- 
man himself from time to time worked with the laborers in order 
to excite their zeal. This mosque is the most splendid and import- 
ant one of Stamboul. In the cemetery behind the mosque is the 
magnificent tomb of Sultan Suleyman; in this mausoleum are three 
large coffins covered with beautiful and costly shawls upon which 
were placed the turban and crest of each inmate. These coffins 
contain respectively, the remains of the founder of the mosque, 
Suleyman I., who died in 1556; Suleyman II., surnamed the 
"Stupid," who was a prisoner of state for forty-five years, and died 
in 1691 ; and Ahmed II., in 1695. 

The hostilities with Hungary lasted until 1553, 
during which time the Ottomans captured the forts of 
Szegedin, Temesvar, Lipsa, Zolnok and others. Erlau 
resisted bravely for five months, when the Ottomans 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



11/ 



raised the siege. Meanwhile the Shah of Persia 
marched against Scender Pasha, Commander of Er- 
zeroum, but was defeated. The Sultan resolved to 
march in person against Persia. 

The Shah Tamasp hearing of it, sent delegates to 
propose peace, but they were unsuccessful. 

In August, 1553, the Sultan crossed to xAsia, and 
arrived at Eregli ; where his son, Mustafa, came to 
kiss his father's mantle. Through the intrigues of 
his step-mother, Hurem Sultana or Roxelana, and 
her son-in-law, the grand vizir Rustem Pasha, Suley- 
man was persauded that his son, Mustafa, had 
plotted against him, and the unfortunate young man 
was strangled in his father's presence. The grief of 
the army on the death of the prince was very great, 
and his body was sent to Brusa for interment. 

Roxelana, the renowned Sultana, whose Turkish name was 
Hurem, was the daughter of a Russian priest. She was carried into 
slavery while young, and became the wife of Suleyman the Magni- 
ficent. She was a charming and an accomplished, but unscrupu- 
lous woman, and in her influence over her aged husband, proved 
herself to be the power behind the throne (Creasy, p. 182). 

In 1555 Mohammed Socoli was sent to quell a 
revolt in Macedonia. An imposter had assumed the 
name and title of the deceased prince, Mustafa, and 
had collected 20,000 followers ; they were dispersed 
and their leader was beheaded. 

The most memorable event at sea was the destruc- 
tion of the Spanish Armada, and of the army near 
Tripoli. After the defeat Admiral Piali Pasha sailed 
with many eminent Spanish prisoners and the cap- 
tured Spanish vessels to Constantinople. The Sultan 
resolved to attack Malta, and sent Piali, in April, 



n8 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



1565, with a fleet of 140 vessels carrying 30,000 land 
forces. The siege lasted about three months, with 
great loss on both sides. The Admiral Korkud was 
killed by a stone bullet at the first assault. The 
Europeans, consisting of 10,000 men and the grand 
master Valetta, resisted bravely, and the Ottomans 
were obliged to raise the siege, and returned to 
Constantinople. The merit of the defence belongs 
entirely to La Valetta, after whom a town in Malta 
was named. The island belonged to the Knights of 
St. John, afterwards called the Knights of Malta, to 
whom it was given in 1530, by Charles V., on their 
expulsion from Rhodes by the Turks. The French 
took it in 1798, but it was recaptured by the English 
in 1800. 

The Ottoman Empire had several naval com- 
manders of skill and renown, all of whom, strange 
to say, were of Christian birth. They were Haered- 
din Barbarossa, his son Hassan; Piali Pasha; Sinan 
Pasha ; Korkud ; Salih Reis ; Kemal Reis ; Piri Reis 
and Sidi Ali. 

Ferdinand I. died and was succeeded by Maximil- 
ian, who refused the annual poll tax to the Sublime 
Porte, unless he could get possession of the port 
Zathmar. Finally the taxes were paid, and peace 
would have been concluded, but the death of the 
grand vizir, Ali Pasha, intervened, and his successor, 
Mohammed Socoli, rejected the proposition of 
Maximilian and declared war against Hungary in 
January, 1566. 

On the 27th of June of the same year, the Sultan 
went to Semlin, celebrated there the festival of 




1. Yol Hasseki or Street Inspector. 

2. Tchohadar or Chief of the Pages. 

3. Beuluk Aghassi or Chief of the Police. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



121 



Bairam and received cordially John, the son of King 
Zappolio, to whom twenty-five years before he had 
promised the paternal crown of Hungary. The 
Sultan then went to besiege the fort Erlau, which 
had successfully resisted, but hearing of the defeat 
of the Ottoman regiment at fort Szigeth, by Nicholas 
Zrinyi, he changed his plans, besieged it, and after 
fourteen days, Zrinyi offered to surrender if he 
might be allowed to retain Croatia, but this the 
Sultan refused to do. 

On the 5th of September, 1566, the Janizaries 
assaulted the ramparts of the fort, and on the same 
night the Sultan died in his tent from old age. His 
death was kept secret until the arrival of Selim, his 
son and successor, from Kutahia. Three days after 
Zrinyi made his final rally, but fell dead, being pierced 
by two musket balls, and the Turks triumphantly 
entered Szigeth, but the explosion of a mine sent 
20,000 of their number into the next world. 

Sultan Sule}^man revised the legal code of his 
country; he was a fine linguist, an eminent poet, and 
a good mathematician. In 1554, the use of Cahveh, 
or coffee, and coffee shops were introduced into 
Constantinople. 

The cafe or coffee shop, is emphatically an Oriental institu- 
tion; it is also a barber shop, with benches inside, which are 
covered with carpet or straw matting. In one corner there is a 
hearth, on which fire is continually kept, where the Cafedji or 
coffeeman prepares the coffee in an individual copper or brass pot, 
for every customer after he comes m. On the walls are shelves, 
upon which stand the nargheles or hubble-bubble, with their long 
markoutch, or flexible tubes, made expressly to use with them, and 
the tchiboucks, or long pipes. Razors are also placed upon nails 
in the walls, as well as brass and copper basins, in which the barber 
lathers the head of his customers before shaving them or clipping 
their hair. At the door there is a tchekmedje or till, having a slit 
in the top into which the customer drops his fee as he leaves the place. 



XII. 

SULTAN SELIM II. 
I 566- 1 574. 

After the death of Sultan Suleyrnan, a messenger 
was sent from Transylvania by the grand vizir 
Mohammed Socoli to Prince Selim, who left at once 
for Constantinople and was girded with the sword of 
Osman. He then went to Belgrade to meet the 
grand vizir who was returning from Transylvania 
with the corpse of Sultan Suleyrnan ; Selim accom- 
panied the army to the capital, where he was joyfully 
received and distributed the customary presents to 
the Janizaries. In 1568 a treaty was concluded 
between Maximilian and the Sultan, on condition 
that both parties should retain possession of what 
they already held. 

In 1569, Joseph Nassy, a wealthy Portuguese Jew, 
succeeded in winning the confidence of Sultan Selim, 
partly by association in debauchery, and afterwards 
by apostacy, first from Judaism, and then from 
Christianity to Islamism, and induced him to attack 
the island of Cyprus in the hope that he might be 
appointed governor ; his claim was also supported 
by Lala Mustafa Pasha, and the admiral Piali, a 
Hungarian renegade. Sultan Selim obtained from 
Sheikh-ul-Islam Ebousououd a Fetva or formal decis- 
ion, authorizing him to do so. A year after, Selim 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



123 



dispatched a messenger to the governor of Cyprus, 
Nicolo Dandalo, demanding the surrender of the 
island, but was answered in the negative. On the 
1 st of July, 1570, Mustafa Pasha arrived at the port 
of Limisso, and with an army of 55,000 attacked first, 
Nicossia; its governor, with his small garrison of 8,000 
troops, bravely resisted ; finally, however, he, with 
Cantarenus, the Bishop of Pathos, and some of the 
nobles, gathered in the court of the palace, which they 
held until they received a promise of safety from the 
enemy. But as soon as they surrendered, the per- 
fidious Turks commenced a general massacre of both 
sexes. Many pitiful deaths occurred, among them 
that of a woman of a noble family, who, learning of 
the death of her husband and three sons, hastened to 
her own home, and after embracing her only remain- 
ing child stabbed him to the heart, then used the 
weapon upon herself, thus saving both from the bar- 
barity of the victors. Many of the survivors were 
taken into slavery, two hundred of whom, compris- 
ing the choicest youths, were placed on a vessel to 
be sent as a present to the Sultan at Constantinople. 
One of their number, a girl of noble family, succeeded 
in firing the gun powder magazine, thus saving her- 
self and her companions from the dishonor of the 
Seraglio. (See History of Cyprus by B. Hamilton 
Lang, late H. M. Consul for the Island of Cyprus.) 
The allied Christian fleet, entirely ignorant of the 
Turkish victory in Cyprus, was anchored in the 
harbor of Candia, and when the intelligence was 
received by its leaders, they concluded to disband, 
each returning to his own country. 



124 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



Early in 1 57 1 , Mustafa Pasha left Nicossia, and 
went to attack Famagosta. This place was defended 
not only by the troops, but also by the citizens, as 
well as by the Cypriote women of noble birth, who 
showed great heroism. At last it became clearly im 
possible to resist, from the scarcity of food and am- 
munition, and Bragadino, their commander, unwill- 
ingly surrendered. 

On the 5th of August, Marco Antonio Bragadino, 
in official dress, accompanied by his officers and 
some noble Greeks, escorted by a guard of fifty sol- 
diers rode to the lines, to deliver the keys of the 
city, and having given up their arms, according to 
the oriental custom, were received in the Pasha's 
tent with due honors. Mustafa Pasha, with all the 
deceit, cunning and dissimulation of his nationality, 
treated them most courteously, at length turning 
abruptly to Bragadino, he asked what security he 
intended to offer for the proper fulfillment of his 
part of the treaty. To this, Bragadino replied that 
no mention of security had been made in the capitu- 
lation. Mustafa saw in his suite a young Venetian, 
Antonio Quirini, of noble birth and fine appearance, 
and demanded his surrender as a hostage, which was 
refused by Bragadino. Instantly the Turkish gen- 
eral flew into a violent rage, and as a pretext accused 
them of having put to death all the Mussulrtien taken 
prisoners during the seige, then at a sign to his 
eunuchs, they seized all the officers and strangled 
them outside the tent in the presence of the Pasha ; 
this outrage was followed by the slaughter of all the 
escort. The next day the Ottomans entered Fama- 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



125 



gosta, put to death the officers in command, and a 
general butchery of the unfortunate inhabitants took 
place, while others were carried into slavery. It is 
also said that many of the noble Venetian families 
were destroyed by being placed in vessels which 
were then scuttled. For Bragadino, a more terrible 
fate was reserved ; after witnessing the death of his 
officers, his ears were cut off, and for ten days he 
was humiliated and tortured with a refinement of 
cruelty, which almost surpasses belief; finally he 
was led out to the large square of Famagosta, and 
slowly flayed alive, while from an adjoining height, 
Mustafa watched the dying agonies of his illustrious 
victim. The skin of their martyred relative was 
afterwards purchased by his family at a high price. 

The particulars of Mustafa's treachery were re- 
ported by an eye witness of undoubted veracity. 
The Conte Hercole Martenengo, a member of Braga- 
dino's suite, when dragged to execution, owed his 
life to the intervention of one of the eunuchs, who 
concealed him, afterwards accepted a ransom for his 
prisoner, and in the end he escaped. (See Smedley's 
Venetian History, Vol. II, p. 217.) Thus, the island 
of Cyprus was captured by the Turks at a cost of 
thousands of lives. Before the close of 1570, the 
Venetian senate attempted to treat with the Sultan, 
and the King of Spain, being alarmed by this move- 
ment, closed his negotiations with the Pope and 
Venice. By this alliance, a large army and a fleet 
were prepared for action ; in the meantime the 
Turkish admiral had laid waste the islands between 
the Morea and the Dalmatian coast, and insulted 



126 OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 

Venice in her own seas, but fearing that a longer 
stay there might cause his blockade by the allied 
vessels, he sailed for the Morea. It was not until 
the end of August, that the allies were ready for 
action, and had assembled at Messina. The com- 
mand was given by Philip II., to his half brother, 
Don John of Austria, and who, though not yet 
twenty years of age, had already manifested those 
sterling qualities which were to rank him with the 
great naval commanders of his time. 

Tidings were received of the arrival of the Turk- 
ish fleet under Ali Hassan Pasha, son of Barbarosa, 
in the neighboring gulf of Lepanto. As soon as it 
came in sight, Don John displayed immediately at 
his mast head the standard of the League, as a signal 
for battle, and ordering his shallop, went from galley to 
galley, urging upon all his followers to be brave in 
action, and loyal to their flag. The battle was long 
and obstinate ; until Ali was killed with a musket 
shot, and his crew then threw down their arms. His 
head was severed from the body, set upon the point 
of a spear which Don John had in his hand, and 
finally mounted on the top of his mast. This hor- 
rible trophy was recognized at once, and terrified 
the entire Turkish fleet, which being without a 
leader surrendered. The allied fleet lost about 8,000 
men, and the Turkish loss was over 25,000. Their 
rout was complete, many were taken prisoners, 
among whom were the two sons of Ali; 12,000 
Christian slaves employed as rowers and fastened to 
the sides of the oars were released, and over one 
hundred war vessels were captured, many were 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



127 



abandoned and about eighty were sunk during this 
terrible naval engagement. Ulutch Ali Pasha, gov- 
ernor of Algeria, with a few galleys escaped and ar- 
rived at Constantinople, where he was raised to 
the rank of Capedan Pasha by the Sultan, and was 
surnamed Kilitch or Sword. 

In the following year, John, the Son of Charles V., 
sailed with the Spanish fleet and subdued Tunis, 
which greatly enraged the grand vizir, who in May, 
1574, with the newly constructed fleet, consisting of 
250 vessels under the admiral Kilitch Ali and Sinan 
Pasha, sailed to the African coast. After three days' 
siege, Tunis was captured, many Spaniards were 
taken prisoners, in addition to which the Turks 
seized 200 guns and 33 standards ; thus, Tunis, 
Algeria, and Tripoli, became provinces of the Otto- 
man dominion. 

Tn the latter part of Sultan Selim's reign he was 
greatly afflicted by the death of his second son, fol- 
lowed by that of the Sheikh-ul-Islam Ebousououd. 
Soon alter this the Sultan had an attack of apoplexy, 
and died on the 4th of October, 1574, after eleven 
days' illness. He was born in 1524, and ascended 
the throne at the age of forty-tAvo, and in conse- 
quence of his habits was surnamed Selim, the Sot. 
He was interred at the west circuit of St. Sophia, 
after a career of treachery, gross injustice and 
cruelty. He left seven sons, Murad, his succes- 
sor ; Mehmed, Suleyman, Mustafa, Tchihanguir, 
Abdullah, Osman, and three daughters. 

At one time the Greek Easter — old style — and the Bairam, or 
Candy Easter of the Turks, happened to fail on the same day. 



128 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY, 



The grand vizir held a council, then sent for the Greek Patriarch, 
and told him the state of the case., insisting that a change must be 
made in the date of Easter. The Patriarch, as is generally the 
case, was a highly cultured man, and replied by asking the grand 
vizir to send to the nearest Greek school and request the presence 
of three boys, five years of age, then to question them. He readily 
complied, and at the suggestion of the Patriarch, asked the little 
ones, through an interpreter, when their Easter came. They 
quickly replied, "To-morrow will be Good Friday, and next Sun- 
day will be Easter." "Are you sure?" "Yes, sir, very sure, for 
Easter is always the Sunday after Good Friday," they replied. 
After this the Patriarch asked the grand vizir to send for three 
Turkish boys of the same age, then questioned them himself in 
Turkish as to when their Bairam came. " We do not know," was 
their reply, " until we hear the report of the guns." On hearing 
this the grand vizir stroked his beard complacently, and turning to 
the other Pashas, said : " We must make the change. The Ghi- 
vours (Christians) are more sure of the date of their Easter than 
we, it will be necessary to postpone our Bairam until the next day." 
The Turks always celebrate the Bairam at the advent of the new 
moon, after Ramazan, or Lent. Three watchmen are selected 
from Sheikh-ul-Islamat to report the advent of the new moon, 
which is watched for from the highest hill in the suburbs of Con- 
stantinople. At the first glimpse they run, under high pressure, to 
Stamboul, and report to the judge appointed for that purpose, who 
rewards them. Early the following morning the firing of the can- 
nons announce the dawn of Bairam. If it proves to be so cloudy 
that the new moon cannot be seen, this important watch takes 
place on the next night. 

XIII. 

SULTAN MURAD III. 
1574-1595. 

Murad, governor of Magnesia, received the an- 
nouncement of his father's death, and reached Con- 
stantinople on the 2 1 st of December, 1574. He was 
twenty-eight years of age, of medium height, pale 
and thin, with black eyes, 'thick eyebrows, and a 
light beard reaching below his breast. On his 
arrival, he ordered his five brothers to be executed. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



129 



His father's corpse was royally interred in the 
environs of St. Sophia, with those of his five 
brothers. On the 2d of January, 1575, he ascended 
the throne with the usual ceremonies. 

Hostilities soon commenced between Hungary 
and the Sublime Porte, and lasted for a long period. 
In 1579 commercial treaties were concluded with 
France, Switzerland, Spain and England, whose 
queen, Elisabeth, as a stranger to Turkey, sent three 
English merchants, William Harebone, Edward Ellis 
and Richard Stapel, to Constantinople. 

The pirates of Algeria, Tunis and Tripoli, paid 
heavy taxes to the Sublime Porte, and disturbed the 
European coasts, principally those of Italy, Spain 
and Portugal. The governor of Tripoli was asked 
by the sheriff of Fez to assist him against his rival, 
whose claims were supported by the Portugese, and 
as the sheriff of Fez died soon after, his successor 
became subject to the Sultan. In the same year 
Constantinople w r as visited by a plague, which car- 
ried off hundreds of its inhabitants, among the vic- 
tims were Admiral Piali ; Sheikh-ul-Islam Hamid ; 
Sultana Mermah ; an aunt of the Sultan, as well as 
his sister. 

In October of the same year, while the grand 
vizir Mohammed Socoli was presiding in the 
council, a man disguised as a Dervish approached 
him to present a petition, and as he did so, stabbed 
him mortally ; the murderer, a Bosnian, was con- 
demned to death. The grand vizir was succeeded 
by Sinan Pasha, an Albanian, who disliked the Aus- 
trians, and in the divan asked their Ambassador 



130 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



Pezzen, who had given authority to the King of 
Austria to appoint a common clerk as his represen- 
tative. u My Sovereign/' he replied, " is as free to 
appoint a clerk to be his Ambassador as the Sultan 
is to make a swinehed his grand vizir." Sinan 
Pasha turned to the other Pashas, and said, " I am 
paid in a good coin by this ghiaour or infidel." (See 
Scarlato, Vol. II, p. 415.) 

The grand vizir, like many others of his race, hated the Chris- 
tians, and did everything in his power to insult and annoy them. 
At one time he invited the Greek patriarch to dine with a number 
of high Turkish officials at his house. The patriarch accepted the 
invitation, and as he entered the parlor of his Mohammedan host 
found that the wily Turk had placed a number of small wooden 
crosses on the floor. He stooped, took one up, in his hand and 
reverently kissed it, then walked over the others on his way across 
the room. The grand vizir mockingly asked him, How is it that 
you, a Christian, tread on the emblem of your faith? The patriarch 
held up his cross and said, " There is but one Cross in which we 
believe, and the one that I hold in my hand at this moment repre- 
sents it." 

Shah Tamasp died, and was succeeded by his son, 
Haidar, but on account of the intrigues and revolts 
in different provinces, the new Shah was killed, and 
was succeeded by his brother, Ismael, who was also 
killed after a reign of eighteen months. This was a 
pretext for a war between Turkey and Persia, which 
continued several years ; during this time Georgia, 
the ally of Persia, was subdued by Osman Pasha, 
surnamed Ozdemir, or the iron nerves. 

The Georgians are a handsome race, the women, although of 
darker complexion, rival those of Circassia. The inhabitants are 
principally Christians, belonging to the Greek and Armenian 
churches. 

I n 1 583 Queen Elizabeth appointed William Hare- 
bone Ambassador to Constantinople, who in 1587 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



131 



presented a letter to the Sultan, in which he was im- 
plored to assist in maritime warfare against Spain. 

In the meantime, the circumcision of the Prince 
Mohammed, eldest son of the Sultan, took place ; the 
ceremonies were celebrated near the mosque of 
Sultan Ahmed, and lasted over a month, the illumi- 
nations and fire-works were exceedingly fine. All 
the foreign rulers were invited, and sent represen- 
tatives with valuable gifts. 

Prince Mohammed, already sixteen years of age, 
was soon after married, and was appointed gover- 
nor of Magnesia. 

The grand vizir Ozdemir died during his expedi- 
tion to Persia ; he was succeeded by Messih Pasha 
and afterwards by Sinan Pasha Kiyalizade. He was 
a Genoese, son of Count Cicala, a descendant of the 
noble family of Doria, and while a boy was taken as 
a slave at the battle of Djerbe, in Africa, and kept 
in the Seraglio. Twice he was appointed admiral 
and married successively the two grand-daughters 
of Sultan Suleyman, and finally went with his fleet to 
Messina, to look for his mother and brother Charles ; 
the latter was found and returned with him to Con- 
stantinople. 

There was nominal peace between the Sublime 
Porte, Austria and Poland, still the hostilities be- 
tween them continued in a measure, caused by the 
vacant throne of Poland. The Turks invaded Persia 
again, and in 1590 peace, advantageous to Turkey, 
was concluded through Hamza Mirza, the son of the 
Shah, who went to Constantinople for this purpose, 
accompanied by four generals and a thousand attend 

10 



132 OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 

ants. By this treaty, Georgia, Shirvan, Azerbizan, 
Loristan and Tauris were annexed to Turkey. 

The Sultan, while in Constantinople, organized a 
fleet and appointed successively three grand vizirs, 
the last of whom was Sinan Pasha, who afterward 
erected Yali-Kiosk on the Seraglio point. In 1593 
the Sultan declared war against Austria, but with- 
out much result, and in November, 1594, the sacred 
standard of the prophet (Sandjak-Sheriff), which 
Avas kept in Damascus, was conveyed with great 
pomp to Constantinople and sent to the grand vizir 
in Hungary, in order to animate the Ottoman army. 
The Sultan, being indisposed, was a guest at the 
residence of Sinan Pasha at Yali-Kiosk, on the 
Seraglio point ; two Egyptian vessels entered the 
harbor and fired a salute ; the concussion caused by 
it shattered the glazed dome of that house ; he con- 
sidered this an evil omen, became very melancholy, 
expired that night and was interred by the side of 
his father, Selim II. 

Sultan Murad III. was born in 1546; he had a 
large number of wives, forty of whom were Hassekis 
or mothers of sons, but his most beloved was his first 
wife, Safie or neat, the descendant of a noble Venetian 
family of Baffo, who was taken as a slave by the 
Turkish pirates while going from Venice to Cercyra, 
of which her father was governor, conveyed to Con- 
stantinople and on account of her exquisite beauty 
was taken into Sultan Murad's harem, where she 
exercised a strong influence. He had 102 children, 
of whom only 20 sons and 27 daughters were living 
at the time of his death ; all of the sons were killed 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



133 



by their brother, Mohammed III., twenty hours after 

his arrival in Constantinople, and were interred near 

their father; 17 daughters died with the plague, and 

the rest were married. Sultan Murad was succeeded 

by his son, Mohammed III. 

On the accession of a Sultan the majority of the women in the 
harem of his predecessor are unceremoniously drowned. This is 
done by fastening heavy stones to their necks, placing them into a 
large wooden chute — made and used for that purpose — through 
which the unfortunate creatures are thrown at night into the 
Bosphorus from the Seraglio Point where the current is very 
strong and the water deep. The authority of the mother of the 
Sultan is absolute in the harem, extending even to the power of 
life and death of those beneath her in rank. Unhappy is the one 
who may chance to offend her. Her sway is as despotic as that of 
her son in the world outside. 



XIV. 

SULTAN MOHAMMED III. 
I 595-1603. 

The death of Murad was kept secret until his son 
received the tidings. He left Magnesia and arrived 
at Constantinople on the 3d of January, 1595. On 
his accession to the throne, he ordered his nineteen 
brothers to be strangled, so that they might not 
attempt to rob him of his power; he exiled Sinan 
Pasha and appointed as grand vizir Ferhat Pasha, 
an Albanian, who was sent against Moldavia and 
Wallachia, and proclaimed them provinces of the 
Ottoman dominion. After this he was assassinated ; 
Sinan Pasha was re-appointed grand vizir and at- 
tempted to quell an insurrection in Wallachia, but 



134 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



was unsuccessful ; he was removed from office and 
Lala Mustafa was appointed in his stead, who died in 
three days after. Again, Sinan Pasha was recalled, 
and was made grand vizir for the fifth time 

Sultan Mohammed, being angered by the mis- 
fortune of the Ottoman army, resolved to march in 
person against Wallachia and Hungary. Meanwhile 
Sinan Pasha had died and left an immense fortune ; 
he was succeeded by Ibraham Pasha, the Sultan's 
brother-in-law. 

In the following June, the Sultan, accompanied by 
the grand vizir, marched against Hungary, crossed 
the Danube, and encamped near the Fort Erlau, 
which had been captured by the Hungarians. This 
fort after a short siege surrendered ; but in October 
of the same year, the armies of Austria and Poland 
fought against the Ottomans near the town of Ker- 
esztes ; they were successful in two battles, but lost 
the third. During this period, three grand vizirs in 
succession, had been in office. 

The majority of the grand vizirs have been of Christian descent, 
taken as slaves while young, kept in a part of the Seraglios set aside 
for them and guarded by white eunuchs. Here they were trained 
and promoted from one rank to another, until they reached the 
highest in the Empire. In addition to these, the Sultans of Tur- 
key for many years past have been in the habit of disguising them- 
selves and visiting different quarters of Constantinople to learn the 
condition of things among the inhabitants, and if they chanced 
to meet any youths whom they considered suitable for the palace, 
they were quietly seized, confined and converted to Mohammedan- 
ism. This custom lasted until the rrign of Abdul Medjid, the 
father of the reigning Sultan Abdul Hamid II. 

In 1600, Kara Yazidji, or the black scribe, a mili- 
tary leader in Asia Minor, assisted by his brother 
Deli Hussein, the governor of Bagdad, formed an 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



army of Kurds and Turkomans, revolted against the 
Sultan and defeated the Ottoman armies. 

While all this was taking place in Asia, the Otto- 
man fleet under the command of Kiyalizade, ravaged 
the coast of Italy and defeated the Spanish and 
Italian fleets, which had tried to subdue the coasts 
of Algeria and Tunis. 

Abbas, the Shah of Persia, violated in 1602 the 
treaty of peace, by retaking Tauris and the other 
forts. As soon as the tidings reached Constanti- 
nople, preparations were made for another expedi- 
tion against Persia, but the Sultan died from plague, 
on the 22d of December, 1603, and was succeeded by 
his son Ahmed. 

Sultan Mohammed III. was born in 1566, his 
mother belonging to the noble Venetian family of 
Baffo. Mohammed left five sons, Ahmed I. ; Mus- 
tafa I.; Selim, who died before his father ; Mahmoud, 
who, through intrigue, was beheaded by his father's 
orders ; Djihanguir, who died in infancy, and three 
daughters. 

XV. 

SULTAN AHMED I. 
1603-1617. 

Ahmed I. succeeded to the throne at the age of 
fourteen years. Nineteen days after his accession to 
the throne, he was circumcised at the house of the 
grand vizir; afterwards he became seriously ill with 
small pox, but finally recovered. 



OTTOMAN 



DYNASTY. 



In 1605 two sons, Osman and Mohammed, were 
born to the Sultan, then only sixteen years old. 

In 1606, a treaty of peace was renewed with Hun- 
gary and Silvatorok. Holland and Belgium also 
concluded commercial treaties with the Sublime 
Porte, the Dutch merchants being in this way able 
to introduce the use of tobacco into the Ottoman 
Empire. 

During this time Murad Pasha, surnamed Ku- 
yudji, or " Well Digger," was appointed grand vizir. 
He marched into Asia, attacked Aleppo and Bagdad, 
and threw hundreds of their inhabitants alive into 
deep wells that w r ere dug for that purpose. One 
instance of his cruelty is given : A number of the in- 
surgents had been thrown into a well, among them 
was found a boy, whom he ordered to share the 
same fate. No one was willing to carry out this 
order, therefore the inexorable old man snatched the 
boy, strangled him with his own hands, then threw 
him into the well ; apologizing for this deed, by say- 
ing that all of the insurgent leaders were boys before 
they became men. (See Scarlato.) 

In 1609, the foundation of the mosque of Sultan 
Ahmed was laid on the plain of the Hippodrome ; it 
still exists and bears his name. 

This edifice was bnilt in 1610 by Sultan Ahmed I. ; it is the only 
mosque which is flanked with six minarets or tall spires. Many 
of the antique remains of the Hippodrome were used in its erec- 
tion, and after St. Sophia, it is the principal place of worship in 
Constantinople ; here the feasts of the Mussulmen are attended 
with Oriental impressiveness. Almost all the mosques of Turkey 
are supported by " Vacouf revenues" or mosque property. These 
Vacouf lands are acquired in this way : 

If a citizen of Turkey dies leaving no male heirs, his property is 
given to the mosques. There are other lands comprising nearly 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



137 



one-third of the Empire called " Mulk," which in case of death are 
transferred to any relatives, male or female, of the deceased owner. 
By means of the Vacouf, a large number of lazy, sensual, fanatical 
and rascally vagabonds called Softas are maintained; these men 
are so numerous as to constitute a dangerous element in society, 
naturally opposed to every sign of progress, and act as a check on 
any impulse toward reform. These Softas, generally the sons of 
peasants, come to Constantinople from different parts of the coun- 
try, and enter themselves as students of law and divinity, in the 
principal mosques, where they are required to go through a regu- 
lar course of study. They receive no salary, but are supported by 
the "Imaret" or charitable institutions, attached to all large 
mosques, and are gradually promoted to the rank of Imams or 
Mollahs. 

In the same year the large fountain of Top-Hane 
was built, which still exists. 

From 161 1 to 1614, no naval combats of any 
consequence took place, although the Ottoman fleet, 
under the command of Mehmed Pasha, the Sultan's 
son-in-law, had been unfortunate in several engage- 
ments, and he was succeeded by Halil Pasha, a con- 
verted Armenian. 

While the Ottoman fleet was in the Mediterra- 
nean, in 161 3, the Cossacks seized the opportunity 
and pillaged the town of Sinope on the Black Sea. 
This event was concealed by the grand vizir 
Nassuh Pasha, but it was communicated by the 
Sheikhul-Islam to the Sultan, who ordered the 
grand vizir to be strangled, and Mehmed Pasha was 
reappointed. 

The Turks are ignorant, bigoted and so indolent and slow, that 
nothing short of the strongest excitement will arouse them to ac- 
tivity " Patience," they say, " belongs to God; haste to the 
devil." Their life is monotonous ; they rise early and offer their 
morning prayers, called " Sabah Namaz," and then retire for an 
additional nap. They take but little exercise except to go to 
the market or to the coffee-shop in their quarter ; if a longer walk 
is desired, it is with the intention of resting under the shadows of 



138 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



the linden or oak trees, near which clear brooks are often mur- 
muring, and listening to the sweet song of the nightingale ; this 
they call "kief" or pleasure. The evenings, Fridays and holy 
days are spent at the coffee-houses in gossip ; coffee and sherbet 
are the principal beverages ; pork, wine and ardent spirits are 
strictly prohibited by the Koran ; but with the exception of pork, 
the other articles are now used on a large scale ; smoking the pipe 
or narghele, hubble bubble, bathing, lounging for hours cross- 
legged upon a cushion or sofa, — for chairs are not used ex- 
cept among the higher classes— are their principal occupa- 
tions. The fountains are not merely for ornament, but, as 
the Turks are enjoined by the Koran to take numerous ab- 
lutions it has been considered a religious duty to erect them 
for use. They pass two thirds of their lives in eating and 
sleeping, and take very little interest in the current events of 
the day. They are fond of all kinds of delicacies, and are excel- 
lent confectioners. When taking their places at the table, they use 
the word "Bismilah " or " In the name of God their meals are 
generally composed of a number of articles in small copper dishes, 
placed in array on a large copper tray, each of which contains but 
little, yet altogether food is offered in great varieties and quanti- 
ties ; they all eat from the same dish, and use their own fingers in- 
stead of knives and forks. If soup is served, wooden spoons are 
used, except with some of the wealthier class, who have metal or 
silver spoons. After their meals they all wash their hands in 
a brass basin, the water being poured from a ewer ; then sitting 
crossed-legged on the " minderliks " or low sofas, they light their 
pipes, nargheles, or cigarettes, coffee is served, and then the story- 
telling begins. The eldest of the number, if qualified, commences, 
silence prevails during his narration, and there is scarcely any in- 
terruption either by question or applause, for the latter custom 
does not exist among the Turks. When he has concluded, the 
others in succession contribute their quota. The Turks invariably 
respect their parents, obey their superiors and have strong venera- 
tion for their elders. It is a well known fact that they have a 
greater esteem for a man wearing a beard, than for one who is 
close shaven, or deprived of it by nature. In order to emphasize a 
statement they place their hands upon their beards and say, " By 
this I swear.' The bigoted Turks shave their heads, with the 
exception of a small tuft on the crowm which is left, so that their 
prophet may seize them by it at death, and thereby draw them 
into Paradise. The Turks and all the subjects of Turkey wear a 
red fez with black tassels. It is never removed, except on going 
to bed, when it is replaced with a white cotton cap ; on entering 
their houses their shoes are taken off and left just inside the 
street door. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



139 



Their salaam or salute is "Salaam Aleicoum," or " Peace be 
with you," and the answer is returned, " Aleicoum Salaam," or, 
" With you be peace ;" while the body is bent until the right hand 
touches the ground ; it is then brought to the breast, then to 
the mouth and afterwards to the forehead. 

Polygamy is a part of their religion, enlarging the domestic sla- 
very ; for the sensual character of the Turks and that of their 
women is derived from their prophet Mohammed and nurtured to 
a very large extent by his precepts, which often causes premature 
old age. Within the last few years, however, polygamy has not 
been as prevalent as formerly, owing not so much to change in 
public sentiment, as to the lack of means. 

The use of ardent spirits, opium, and other vices that cannot 
be mentioned are their daily pursuits. 

The antipathy of the Christians to the Turks, is due more to the 
dread of their sensual passions, than to mere religious animosity. 
In the lowest classes of the Turkish people truth, honesty, and 
gratitude, may occasionally be found ; in the middle classes, very 
seldom ; in the highest, never. 

A Turk never commits suicide, for he does not despair, but 
accepts all his misfortunes in the spirit of the inevitable as coming 
from God. (See Scarlato, Vol. I, p. 83.) 

On the 22d of November, 161 7, Sultan Ahmed 
died after a short illness. He was born in 1589, and 
left a brother Mustafa; and nine sons, Murad IV., 
Suleyman, Kassim, Osman L, Selim, Hussein, Meh- 
med, Bayezid and Ibrahim, of these Murad, Osman 
and Ibrahim reigned in succession ; Mehmed was 
killed by his brother Osman; Suleyman, Bayezid 
and Kassim were killed by Murad; Selim died in 
infancy ; Hussein in 161 3 ; and there were a number 
of daughters who married men of rank. 

Among the last acts of his reign, was an order 
from Sultan Ahmed to appoint "Koran readers" in 
the palace, who read the Koran every Friday, as well 
as the enactment of the new rules called "Sultan 
Ahmed Kanunumesse." 



XVI. 

SULTAN MUSTAFA L 
1617-1618. 

Prince Mustafa, brother of Ahmed, was proclaimed 
Sultan at the age of 25 years. From his. childhood 
until that time he had been confined in the palace. 
He was slender in appearance, pale, with a thin black 
beard, mustache and large black eyes. He was mild 
in disposition and was called a saint by the Sheikhs, 
although it is generally supposed that he was de- 
mented. He was girded with the sword of Osman, 
with the usual pomp and ceremony, and distributed 
the customary presents to his army. During his 
short reign of three months, he was under the con- 
trol and guidance of his mother ; the chief eunuch, 
and the Sheikh-ul-Islam ; but finally resigned, was 
secluded again in the palace and succeeded by his 
nepheW, Osman II. 



XVII. 

SULTAN OSMAN II. 
1618-1622. 

Osman ascended the throne at the age of fourteen. 
He was robust physically, and brusque in manner. 
The grand vizir Halil Pasha, had been in Persia 
in command of the army, during which time the 

Shah sent Kassim Khan, surnamed Bournou or 

- \ 140 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



Hooked Nose, to negotiate with him. He was a 
man of great pride and vain boasting, and was ad- 
mitted to the Turkish council, at a time when there 
was a strong wind. Dilaver Pasha, a Croatian, 
wishing to change the conversation, asked Kassim 




Sultan Osman II. 



Khan if there was always a strong wind in Persia. 
Before Kassim could reply, Veli Pasha said very 
wittily, that, to-day the wind blew from Kassim 
Khan's nose, and that was the reason why it was 
so fierce. This caused all the Pashas to laugh 
heartily, Kassim's boasting ceased, and peace was 
soon after concluded. 



142 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



In September, 1620, as the Poles had broken their 
treaty of peace, Scender Pasha marched against them 
and defeated them near Jassy. 

The grand vizir Ali Pasha continued to persecute 
the Pashas and wealthy citizens, confiscating their 
immense properties to enrich the public treasury, a 
custom which lasted until the reign of Sultan Medjid. 
In January, 1621, the Sultan killed his brother Meh- 
med ; in the same year Ali Pasha died, and was 
succeeded by Hussein Bostandji-Bassi, or chief 
gardener of the Seraglio. 

The Sultan, however, being only 17^ years of age, 
rejected the advice of his counsellors and followed 
his youthful impulses. In May, 1621, the Sultan 
marched against Poland but was defeated with great 
loss ; peace was then concluded ; the grand vizir 
was removed and succeeded by Dilaver Pasha. 

The Sultan returned to Constantinople, and was 
overjoyed to hear that his beautiful Russian wife 
had a son. 

When a child is born in a Turkish family the father, mother or 
a relative recites the Ezan, inviting the child into the Mohammedan 
faith, and repeats its name three times ; all of which is whispered 
into the infant's ear, before it is seven days old. 

The great severity of the Sultan, the high price of 
provisions, the prohibition of wine and tobacco, and 
his seizure of the beautiful daughters of Perstev 
Pasha, and of the Sheikh-ul-lslam, as well as the loss 
to the regiments of the Janizaries in the war of 
Poland, angered them, as well as the inhabitants of 
Constantinople. Finally the Sultan planned to go to 
Syria, raise a large army of Kurds and Turcomans, 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



143 



return with it to Constantinople and utterly destroy 
the turbulent Janizaries ; but this bold stroke was 
betrayed, and caused his destruction. 

On the 1st of June, Sultan Osman was dethroned, 
and was succeeded by the former Sultan Mustafa I., 
who had been confined in the palace ; Daoud Pasha 
was appointed grand vizir by Valide, Sultan 
Mustafa's mother. 

Osman was placed on horse-back, partially dressed 
with an old fez on his head, and was taken by the 
Janizaries, followed by a large mob, to one of the 
Seven Towers, in accordance with the order of 
Valide, the mother of Sultan Mustafa. The doors 
were fastened, and inside were the grand vizir 
Daoud Pasha ; the Sultan's Kehaya or factotum, 
Omer Djebezibassi ; and the policeman Kalender- 
oglou, who made three ineffectual efforts to strangle 
him ; finally Djebezibassi passed the bow-string 
round his neck, assisted by Kalender-oglou, who 
pressed his secret parts — a Turkish fashion — in spite 
of Osman's pleadings for his life, and thus the cruel 
deed was accomplished on the 5th of June, 1622. 
(See Creasy, p. 243 ; Constantinople, by Scarlato 
Byzantius, Vol. I., p. 315.) The Grand Vizir Daoud 
Pasha then wishing to announce the Sultan's death, 
cut off his ears and sent them in a box to Mustafa's 
mother. He was succeeded by his uncle Mustafa 
I., who was taken from his seclusion to assume the 
reins of government. 



XVIII. 

SULTAN MUSTAFA I. 
1622-1623. 

Mustafa, on his second accession to the throne dis- 
tributed again the Imperial gifts to the army. Soon 
after the Janizaries accused the grand vizir of being 
the cause of Sultan Osman's death, they succeeded 
in having him strangled, and successively four grand 
vizirs were removed ; all this was in accordance 
with the request of the army, and the consent of 
Valide Sultana. During this reign many provinces 
were lost, and the state of the Empire was such that 
Mustafa was compelled to resign ; he was confined 
again in the palace, where he was strangled in June, 
1639. He was succeeded by his nephew, Murad 
IV., the son of Sultan Ahmed. 

XIX. 

SULTAN MURAD IV. 
1 62 3- 1 640. 

Murad IV. succeeded to the throne on the 10th 
of December, 1623, at the early age of twelve, under 
the regency of his mother. He had an oval face, a 
pale complexion, black hair, keen eyes and was full 
of duplicity and cunning. Soon after his accession, 
the government, fearing the plunder of the Imperial 
Ottoman Mint by the revolting Sipahis and Janiza- 
ries, transferred it to a location by the old Byzantine 
church of St. Irene, now used as an armory, it 
stands on the declivity between old Seraglio point 
and St. Sophia. I44 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



145 



In the same year Bagdad was taken by the Per- 
sians after a sanguinary attack, and soon after Hafis 
marched against the governor of Erzeroun, Abaza 
Pasha, who had revolted, and defeated him near Cara- 
mania. Abaza fled, while his wives and children 




Sultan Murad IV. 



were taken slaves. Hafis Pasha, wishing to quell 
the revolt in these provinces, again acknowledged 
Abaza Pasha as governor of Erzeroun on conditions 
which he instantly accepted. 



146 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



A Cossack fleet, consisting of 150 small vessels 
with 3,000 men, appeared in the upper Bosphorus, 
landed at Buyukdere, Terapia and Yenikeuy, but 
they were repulsed. 

Sultan Murad was now seventeen years of age, 
and was in the habit of going around the streets in 
disguise at night, to learn something of his people 
and their opinion of him as their ruler. He re- 
solved to end the disturbances in his capital by 
putting the grand vizir to death, and appointed the 
Albanian Tabaniyasse Mehmed Pasha as his succes- 
sor, with orders to punish the revolters at once. They 
were all slain, and their bodies floated thickly on the 
Bosphorus ; hundreds of innocent people were butch- 
ered to gratify caprices of the tyrant. The cause 
assigned was, that the Sipahis demanded from the 
Sultan the heads of seventeen pashas, including 
that of the grand vizir Hafis and the Sheikh-ul-Islam 
Yahia, who were favorites of the Sultan. 

In March, 1635, the Sultan marched in person to 
Persia, and captured several cities, thence returned 
to Constantinople. Soon after this, the Shah of 
Persia, being advantaged by the severity of the 
winter, re-took the captured cities, for which reason 
the Sultan and the grand vizir marched again to 
Asia, and arrived at Bagdad, which was captured 
after a siege of forty days, and a fearful butchery 
ensued, when only 300 of the 30,000 men in the 
garrison escaped ; since then it has been under the 
sway of the Ottomans. After the capture of 
Bagdad, the Sultan returned, in 1639, to Constanti- 
nople in triumph, and in a short time a treaty of 
peace was concluded between Turkey and Persia. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



1 47 



In February, 1640, Sultan Murad was suddenly 
taken ill ; his physicians, being influenced by the 
Pashas and the courtiers, who hated him for his 
cruelties, opened his veins, which terminated his life 
in the thirty-sixth year of his age. 

Murad was greatly disliked for his atrocities. 
Among others the following instance is stated : He 
was in the habit of entering the north-eastern porch 
of St. Sophia, and on one occasion shot with his 
arrow and killed several Armenians, who, in the 
presence of the grand vizir, had been disputing 
with the Greeks for the possession of the tomb of 
Christ at Jerusalem ; one of them, an Armenian 
priest who had been discussing it very loudly, was 
instantly executed by the order of the Sultan in the 
place where he stood. 

The Armenians are a very ancient people, and their history is 
one of great interest. In the latter part of the third century, dur- 
ing the reign of King Tiridatis, Christianity was introduced into 
Armenia. The King was baptized by Bishop Gregory, and by the 
royal wish, all the inhabitants received the same sacred rite in the 
river Euphrates. They have kept their faith from time immemo- 
rial, amid severe persecutions from the Turks and the savage Kurds. 

At another time he saw a number of Greek 
women dancing in a meadow ; their merriment dis- 
turbed him. He ordered them to be seized and 
drowned. On one occasion a boat with several 
Christian women passed near the walls of the Serag- 
lio, which to his bigoted comprehension seemed m- 
proper. He ordered his officers to fire upon them, 
and they sank before his eyes. Among the many 
cold-blooded massacres of his reign were those of his 

three brothers. 
11 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



Murad IV. was born on the 8th of August, 1612. 
He had four sons, Ahmed, Suleyman, Mohammed 
and Allah-ud din, all of whom died before their 
father, and six daughters, who mafried pashas. 



XX. 

SULTAN IBRAHIM I. 
1 640- 1 648. 

The successor of Sultan Murad was his brother 
Ibrahim, who had been confined for many years in 
the Seraglio, and was girded with the sword in the 
usual manner. An Austrian and a Hungarian 
deputy, arriving at Constantinople, succeeded in 
renewing their respective treaties in June, 1641. In 
January, 1642, two sons were born to him, Moham- 
med and Suleyman. The prohibition of tobacco 
was continued during this reign, but the use of snuff 
was substituted for the first time in Turkey. 

An old Turk, being very fond of smoking, and fearing that he 
might be discovered, used to descend into a dry well to use his 
pipe ; but at last the Sultan heard of it, went to the well, and found 
such to be the case. He then asked him, " How dare you violate 
my command?" The old man replied, "Son of a female slave, 
your dominion is only over the surface of the earth ; I am smoking 
in it, where your control does not reach." The Sultan was pleased 
with tne old man's ready wit, and did not punish him. 

In the same year the first expedition, which 
proved to be unsuccessful, was sent against the Cos- 
sacks, who five years before had taken the Crimea. 

In 1644, the chief eunuch of the palace, Subulus, 
through the intrigues of others, was obliged to go to 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



149 



Mecca, but on his way was attacked by the Maltese 
pirates and killed. The members of his suite were 
taken prisoners, among whom were ladies of the 
highest rank ; one was a young and beautiful Sul- 
tana, with her infant son, by Ibrahim, named Oth- 
man. The pirates took refuge with their prize on 
the south coast of Crete. The child was baptized, 
and finally became a Dominican monk, under the 
name of Padre Ottomano. The fury of Sultan Ibra- 
him on the receipt of this intelligence was ungovern- 
able, and he breathed vengeance against all Christen- 
dom The Ottomans prepared to declare war 
against the Venetian democracy, to w T hich Crete 
belonged. 

Youssouf Pasha was appointed general commander 
of the Ottoman army, and sailed with his fleet from 
Constantinople in May, 1645. He arrived at Crete, 
arid landing at Hania, suddenly besieged that city, 
the inhabitants being ignorant of their approach. 
The siege lasted about twenty days, and after many 
assaults, the governor of that city concluded a treaty 
of peace. In the following year, 1646, they took 
Rethimno, and in the spring of 1648 besieged Candia, 
the capital of the island. Sultan Ibrahim was de- 
throned on August 20, 1648, and kept in custody 
with his two slave wives in two gloomy rooms in 
the Kafez, or cage, where, after ten days, he was 
strangled by the executioner, Kara Ali, and his 
helper, Hamal Ali, in the presence of the grand vizir, 
Kara Mehmed, and the Sheikh-ul-Islam, Abdul 
Rahim, who caused his death because Ibrahim had 
seized his beautiful daughter and taken her into his 
harem. 



i5o 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



The Kafez, or cages, consist of twelve pavilions in a part of the 
Seraglio, each of which contains several rooms, surrounded by a 
high wall, which encloses a little garden. In these pavilions were 
secluded all the Imperial princes, brothers, nephews and sons of 
the Sultan, so that they might not attempt to rob him of his power. 
A pavilion is assigned to each prince; he is attended by several 
girls and a few young pages, and sees no one else but the black 
eunuch, who is also his tutor. 

He was interred in the mausoleum of Sultan Mus- 
tafa, before the gate of St. Sophia. He left eight sons, 
Mohammed IV., his successor ; Suleyman II., Ahmed 
II., Selim, Osman, Tchihanguir and Bryezid. The 
last four died in infancy ; there were five daughters, 
all married. 



XXI. 

SULTAN MOHAMMED IV. 
1648-1687. 

Mohammed IV. was not seven years of age when 
he ascended the throne with the customary cere- 
monies. He was dressed in silk clothes, trimmed 
with gold and precious stones, and wore a white 
turban in which the Imperial aigrette of heron's 
feathers was fastened by a clasp of enormous 
diamonds. Being yet in his minority he was under 
the guardianship of his stepmother, Kiossem Sultana. 
During the first year of his reign disturbances took 
place in Constantinople and Asia Minor, which were 
soon quelled. 

At this time the grand vizir, Mehmed Pasha, was 
removed and succeeded by Kara Mustafa, an Al- 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



banian, who treated the foreign ambassadors with 

great barbarity ; he imprisoned Bailo, the Venetian 

ambassador, in the castle of Roumeli Hissar, and also 

hanged the first dragoman of another embassy, a 

relative of the prince of Moldavia. 

Discourteous treatment of the foreign ambassadors existed until 
the reign of Mohammed II. The receptions at Constantinople were 
thus described by an eye witness. " Imagine a proud British noble- 
man before he was allowed to approach the ' Shadow' of God upon 
Earth,' as the Sultans have always called themselves, compelled to 
pass through a rabble of insulting Janizaries, and then to wait until 
the chief master of ceremonies could announce to the Sultan, that 
an unbelieving dog from the little island called England, had come 
to offer his Majesty some choice presents, and to rub his face in 
the dust of his august footsteps. Then the Sultan, or the ' Pos- 
sessor of men's necks,' would command that he should be treated 
in the usual manner, which was as follows : Water and towels 
should be passed around for his ablutions and those of his suite, 
the ambassador and his companions would cover their unwelcome 
persons with fur cloaks and, seated on low stools, were fed upon 
the greasy dainties vouchsafed for their refreshment, previous to 
entering into the audience room. Then the same proud Britisher 
was guarded by two white eunuchs and conducted by them into 
the presence of the Sultan, who reclined among cushions. One of 
the officers in attendance assisted the ambassador to kiss the 
Sultan's robe, and in departing he was not allowed to turn his back 
to the Sultan." Insults and contumely, some of which is too shame- 
ful for public print, have been constantly heaped upon Europeans 
even at the present time. In 1892, during the month of Ramazan, 
or Lent, just before I left Constantinople, several Turks in high 
official positions had planned a gross insult and assault — in a 
manner that cannot be related here — upon a young German sailor 
belonging to the yacht used by the German ambassador, who at 
once went to the Sultan for redress. He was assured that the 
offenders would be banished, but the promise was not kept. A 
second application was made by him in person to the Sultan, who, 
with the most profuse apologies, instantly summoned one of the 
chamberlains and apparently in a great rage ordered that these 
men should be banished without delay. They were sent away long 
enough for a change of air, and in a few weeks, apparently much 
benefited by the trip, they resumed their former official position in 
Constantinople. So much for Turkish duplicity. This is only one 
of the numberless insults which, unfortunately for those of foreign 
birth, are of frequent occurrence. 



152 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY, 



In December, 1649, the circumcision of the Sultan 
and of his three brothers took place, which was 
celebrated with great pomp. The disturbances of 
the Janizaries still continued, the Albanian Ahmed 
Pasha, surnamed " Melek," or angel, was appointed 
grand vizir, but being an inexperienced man, he was 
deposed, and Siavus Pasha, a Christian, was ap- 
pointed instead. These disturbances caused also the 
death of Kiossem Sultana, who was very old ; she 
built several edifices, among which was the Valide 
Han, of white stone, which still exists in Con- 
stantinople and has been ever since occupied by 
Persian merchants. 

Hans, of which several still exist in Constantinople, are large 
buildings of hard, white stone, looking like fortifications, each sur- 
rounding a square courtyard upon which the shops front. 

These alternations of the grand vizir, with the dis- 
turbance of the Janizaries, caused the failure of the 
Ottoman arms against the Venetians. 

Mehmed Pasha, the son of a priest, and surnamed 
Kiuprulu, from his birthplace, was appointed grand 
vizir. During his term of service he slaughtered 
36,000 men. Thirty persons were executed every 
day for an entire year, and their heads were exposed 
upon stakes before the gate of the palace. Among 
the victims of this inexorable monster was the Greek 
Patriarch Parthenius III., who was treacherously 
accused of holding private communications of a 
revolting character with the Prince of Wallachia. 
The French Ambassador, De La Haye, delayed in 
offering the customary gifts, and was imprisoned at 
Adrianople, with his son, who had been lashed. (See 
Scarlato, Vol. II, p. 431.) 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



153 



Mehmed Pasha recaptured Lemnos and Tenedos, 
died in 1661, and was succeeded by his son Ahmed 
Pasha, who marched against Hungary. His army 
consisted of 120,000 men, and 135 guns, with a 
reserve cavalry of Tartars. In March, 1664, the 
grand vizir commenced hostilities, seized many 
lorts, and a severe battle was fought near the Con- 
vent of St. Gotthard. 

The Austrians, with the French, under Reymond, 
Count of Montecuculi, defeated the Ottomans. As 
the French army came forward with their shaven 
faces, Kiuprulu asked scornfully, " Who are these 
young girls?" But he soon found that the young 
girls, as he termed them, regardless of the Turkish 
battle cry of Allah ! rushed upon them and cut them 
down, calling out as they did so, " Alons ! Alons ! 
Tue ! Tue !" The Janizaries who escaped that car- 
nage remembered long afterward the French cry of 
Alons! Tue! (See Creasy, p. 282.) 

In March, 1666, the Venetians proposed to the 
Sultan a treaty of peace, but did not succeed, as 
they were unwilling to yield the occupied towns of 
Crete, and General Deli Hussein Pasha went to 
Heraclea, and besieged it for three years. Reinforce- 
ments of French, Italian and Maltese troops went to 
assist the Venetians, but without success. Finally, 
in 1669, Morosini, governor of the fort, concluded a 
treaty of peace, and the island of Crete fell into the 
Ottoman power, after many severe conflicts and a 
loss of 30,000 troops to the Turks. General Deli 
Hussein, after the capture of Crete, returned to 
Adrianople with a few selected slaves as gifts for 



154 OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 

the Seraglio, for which he was rewarded royally by 
the Sultan. Among these there was a young Greek 
woman of remarkable beauty from Rethimno, of 
Crete, named by the Sultan Rempie-Giul-nous, and 
who became the mother of Mustafa II. and Ahmed 

III. (See Scarlato D. Byzantius, Vol. II, p. 250.) 
In the meantime, the Cossacks being disturbed by 
the Poles, asked through the Khan of Tauris, the 
assistance of the Sultan, who consented and marched 
against Poland in October, 1672. The King of 
Poland died, and was succeeded by the brave John 
Sobieski, who violated the treaty, and hostilities 
commenced again. He marched against the Turks, 
and defeated them twice, with a loss of 25,000 men 
at Choczim, in 1673. Through the mediation of 
France, terms of peace were concluded in 1676, at 
Daoud Pasha, near Constantinople, and Kara Mus- 
tafa Pasha was reappointed grand vizir. 

Mustafa Pasha was surnamed Kara, or dark, for his cruelties. 
He married the sister and then the daughter of Sultan Mehmed 

IV. , but having been unsuccessful at the siege of Vienna, was 
beheaded in January, 1684, at Belgrade. His harem consisted of 
over 1,000 slave wi^es, attended by 1,500 girls, also slaves. These 
all were guarded by 700 black eunuchs. His servants, horses and 
cattle numbered thousands. (See " Constantinople," by Byzantius, 
Vol. I, p. 387, and Vol. II, p. 435.) 

Meanwhile Russian excursions against Tauris irri- 
tated the Sublime Porte, and in June, 1678, the grand 
vizir marched against Russia, and attacked Fort 
Cehzrym with severe loss. 

During that time the chief dragoman of the Sub- 
lime Porte, the erudite Greek Panayoti Nikussio, 
was succeeded by Alexander Mavrocordato of noble 
family. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



155 



An incident is related on good authority, at that period, which is 
said to have occurred near the walls of Eghri-capou or crooked 
gate, formerly called the gate of Charsia, It seems in the year 549 
A. D., while the Emperor Justinian went from the palace of the 
Acropolis to the Hebdomon, he lost from the Imperial crown a 
diamond of 25 carats. It is natural to suppose that anxious 
search was made for the precious gem, but the diamond lay con- 
cealed, and so remained during nine hundred years of political 
convulsion, while wars and bloodshed, the sack of the palace by 
the Crusaders and others, with the fall of the Greek Empire, swept 
over and desolated the spot. Then the diamond came once more 
to light and was found by a little shepherd lad. He picked it up 
among the ruins and loose rubbish, and used it in the " chuck 
farthing," a game still in favor among the Moslem children. The 
father, however, was a wise man, he guessed something of the 
value of the shining stone, obtained an audience with the Sultan 
and received in return for the almost priceless jewel, the post of 
chief shepherd of the Imperial flocks; the child was educated at 
the expense of the Padishah or Sultan, and became in time a per- 
son of eminence. The diamond received the name of " Tchoban 
Tashi," or Shepherd's Stone, and was placed among the most pre- 
cious jewels of the Sultan's treasury. This " Shepherd's Stone '* 
is clearly a jewel with a destiny, for it comes once more into notice, 
helping this time, not to make a poor lad's fortune, but to take a 
rich man's life. In the reign of the Sultan Mohammed it was 
necessary to reset the the diamond, and therefore it was confided 
to an aged Armenian jeweler of great renown. The old man was 
bending anxiously over his work, duly impressed with the impor- 
tance of the occasion and of the fatal consequences of any accident 
to the stone, when his hand slipped, and there, before his terrified 
sight, appeared a thin line, seemingly a crack, crossing the pre- 
cious jewel ! The shock was too great, and the unfortunate 
jeweler, with an exclamation of despair, fell back and expiied; 
terror had blinded him to the fact that it was only a hair from his 
eyebrow, which falling on the diamond, gave it the appearance of 
a flaw. The historian Scarlato Byzantius gives a different version 
of this. See Vol. 1, page 164. 

In 1681, a treaty of peace between the Sublime 
Porte and Russia was signed, securing Kief to the 
latter. 

In 1683, the Sultan, taking a part of his harem, as was 
always his custom, marched against Austria, accom- 
panied by the grand vizir. He arrived at Belgrade 



i 5 6 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



in May, 1683, and sent the grand vizir Kara Mustafa 
with an army of 200,000 Turks and Tartars to Vienna, 
besieging it for sixty days. The Emperor Leopold 
I. left Vienna in terror, and his example was fol- 
lowed by many of his people. The city was 
defended by 70,000 troops under the command of 
Count Rudiger of Stahremberg ; during the siege 
provisions and ammunition became very scarce, the 
garrison lost 6,000 men and many died daily from 
pestilence and the attacks of the enemy. Many 
captives from the suburbs were killed by the Turks, 
a large number of whom were women, who were 
first subjected to the crudest treatment from the 
soldiers. At last, the intrepid John Sobieski, with 
an army of Germans and Poles, attacked the Turks, 
who after a short resistance were entirely routed, 
and their artillery, equipments and provisions were 
taken. The gallant Sobieski was received by Count 
Stahremberg in the magnificent crimson tent left by 
the grand vizir, who greeted him as the deliverer of 
Vienna. Together they went to St. Stephen's 
Cathedral and gave thanks for their deliverance 
from the Ottomans. 

St. Stephen's Cathedral, in Vienna, was founded in 1359 and 
was not completed until 1480; it is a fine Gothic edifice with a 
spire 437 feet high, containing a very large bell, cast from the 
cannons taken from the Turks when they raised the siege of 
the city. 

Sobieski pursued the retreating Turks and term- 
inated the campaign on October 27, 1683, with the 
capture of Grau, which place had been almost a 
century and a half in their possession. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



157 



Sultan Mohammed IV., being enraged at these 
misfortunes, caused Kara Mustafa to be beheaded at 
Belgrade, and Ibrahim Pasha succeeded him. 

In the spring of 1684 the hostilities commenced 
again with the Austrians, Poles, Venetians and Hun- 
garians ; the Ottomans were defeated by the allied 
army with the loss of Buda. 

The grand vizir was succeeded by Suleyman 
Pasha, who organized a new army and in May, 
1686, he went against Hungary, wintered at Bel- 
grade and was defeated at the battle of Mohacs. 
Thus Hungary was released from the rule of the 
Ottomans, while Francisco Morosini, with the Swiss 
Count Cionigsmar, subdued the Peloponnesus. 

These defeats caused the deposition of the grand 
vizir, for the army revolted and proclaimed as his 
successor Siavus Pasha. He tried to quell the 
disturbances, but without success, and on the 6th 
of January, 1688, the revolters forced open his 
doors, killed him and maltreated his wife and sister. 
(See Creasy, p. 302.) On the 20th November, 1687, 
they succeeded in dethroning the Sultan after a 
reign of 39 years, and his brother was proclaimed 
as Suleyman II. The dethroned Sultan was born on 
the 14th of January, 1642, and died of dropsy at the 
age of 50. He was interred in the mosque of his 
mother, Yeni Valide Djami. He left four sons, 
Mustafa II., Ahmed II., Bayezid and Suleyman, and 
lour daughters, all married. 



XXII. 
SULTAN SULEYMAN II. 
1687-1691. 

Suleyman II. had passed 45 years in compulsory 
seclusion before he was proclaimed Sultan and 
girded on him the sword of his ancestors at Eyoub. 
The new grand vizir, Ismail Pasha, being unable to- 
rule the affairs of the Empire, was succeeded by 
Yenitchar Agha Mustafa Pasha, a Christian by birth. 
The defeat of the Turks compelled him to continue 
the war, and he marched with the Sultan against the 
allied forces in June, 1689, but the enemy advancing 
captured Nissa, and the Sultan withdrew to Philip- 
popolis ; the grand vizir, taking with him the sacred 
standard, assumed the command of the army but 
was unsuccessful, which caused his removal. 

These disturbances were advantageous to the 
army ; the Venetians subdued the Peloponnesus 
and Thebes, and the allied powers captured Belgrade 
and invaded Bosna. In 1691 the Sultan marched in 
person, but died of dropsy in June of the same year 
on the way thither. He was interred in the mau- 
soleum of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. 

XXIII. 

SULTAN AHMED II. 
1691-1695. 

Ahmed II., brother of Suleyman II., ascended the 
throne and girded on him the sword at Eski Djami 

in Adrianople. The grand vizir Kuprulu Mustafa 

158 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



159 



Pasha was ordered to march against the Austrians ; 
met the enemy near Salakeman ; he was killed in 
battle but his corpse was not found ; the loss of the 
Ottomans was 28,000, and that of the Austrians 
6,000. (See Scarlato Byzantius, Vol. II., p. 438-440.) 
The entire battle field, with 150 guns, was occupied 
by their victors. 

On the 6th of February, 1695, Sultan Ahmed died 
of dropsy, leaving twin sons and one daughter. He 
was born in March, 1643, and succeeded his brother 
at the age of 48. He was passionately fond of 
music and literature, but had a melancholy dispo- 
sition. 

XXIV. 
SULTAN MUSTAFA II. 
1695-1703. 

Mustafa II., son of Mohammed II., soon after his 
succession resolved to take the field in person. He 
advanced to Tamesvar and recaptured several for- 
tresses. In September of the same year he defeated 
the Austrians near Lugos. 

In May, 1697, the Sultan arrived at Belgrade, and 
in September the grand vizir attacked the Austrians 
near Zanta, the battle proving a most destructive 
one. Prince Eugene, after two hours fighting, gained 
a great victory ; 20,000 Ottoman corpses covered 
the battlefield, 10,000 more were drowned in the 
river in their flight, and the grand vizir Elmas 
Mehmed was killed. The booty of this victory was 
large and varied, among which were the Imperial 



i6o 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



seal of gold, bearing the Tughra or monogram ot 
Mustafa II., still existing in the museum of Vienna; 
his carriage, the treasury of the army, consisting of 
3,040,000 florins ; also 9,000 wagons, a large number 
of camels, oxen, horses and much ammunition, as 
well as ten of his wives. The Sultan saw the 
destruction of his army and fled to Temesvar, 
whence he retired to Constantinople. 

In September, 1697, the powder magazine explo- 
ded and caused great destruction ; many were killed 
and hundreds of houses were destroyed ; in conse- 
quence of which, the Sultan ordered it to be trans- 
ferred to Makri-Keui, a suburb of Constantinople, 
where it still exists. 

On the 24th of October, 1698, representatives of 
Turkey, Austria, Venice, Russia and Poland, as- 
sembled at Carlovitz, where a treaty of peace was 
signed. In February, 1700, Ibrahim Pasha, a special 
envoy from the Sultan, arrived in Vienna with valu- 
able presents for the Emperor Leopold, who re- 
ceived him with honors ; in return, he sent an envoy 
with gifts to the Sultan. 

In the same year, the newly appointed ambassa- 
dors of France and England, Ferriol, Marquis Dar- 
gental and Sir Robert Sutton, arrived at Constanti- 
nople and went to the palace to present themselves 
to the Sultan, through the chief dragoman of the 
Sublime Porte, Alex. Mavrocordato. Both were in 
court dress, and covered with the Imperial Turkish 
caftans or cloaks. They were ordered to put aside 
their swords, as no one was allowed to enter the 
Sultan's presence wearing it, not even the grand 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY, 



161 



vizir. The English ambassador readily complied 
with the request of the dragoman and was received 
by the Sultan ; but Ferriol refused to do so, threw 
off the caftan, and at once left the palace with his 
suite. 

During this time, the grand vizir died and was 
followed in succession by two others ; the latter of 
whom, through the revolt of the Janizaries, fled to 
Adrianople ; this was followed by the dethronment 
of Sultan Mustafa, which occured on the 3d of 
September, 1703. He died of melancholia and was 
succeeded by his brother Ahmed III. 

XXV. 
SULTAN AHMED III. 
1703-1730. 

The reign of Ahmed III., comprises a series of 
campaigns with Austria, Venice and Russia. 

Peter the Great, Emperor of Russia, wishing to 
extend his dominion, cast an eye upon certain pos- 
sessions of the Ottoman Empire. 

With this in view, he undertook an expedition 
against the Crimea, which he easily captured and 
where he erected strong forts at the entrance of the 
Sea of Azoff. 

The Sultan in thl space of five years had born to 
him, twelve sons and daughters. 

Charles XII., of Sweden, and Mazeppa, hetman of 
the Cossacks, were defeated in 1709 at Paltova, by 
Peter the Great, and they fled to Bender. Charles 
spent five years in Turkey (1709-1714), and during 
his stay urged the Sultan to fight against the 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



Russians; but Peter the Great demanded the sur- 
render of Mazeppa and the exile of Charles, which 
was refused by the Sublime Porte. A treaty, how- 
ever was signed between Russia and Turkey, on 
the condition that the King of Sweden should re- 
turn freely to his dominion. The Sultan being 
aware that the Russians controlled Azoff, was ir- 
ritated and caused the arrest of the Russian 
ambassador, Count Tolstoi, in the public streets and 
committed him to the castle of the Seven Towers ; 
this caused a declaration of war between Russia and 
Turkey. 

The grand vizir Beltadji Mehmed left Constan- 
tinople in May, 171 1, met the Russians under the 
command of the Czar, at the Pruth, where the latter 
was defeated, and Catharine I. saved Russia and 
her husband only by large bribes. Thus peace was 
concluded with the grand vizir, but the Sultan being 
displeased removed and exiled him to Mitylene ; and 
appointed Damad Ali Pasha in his stead, and another 
treaty was signed in 171 3, advantageous to the Turks. 

Peter the Great allowed the officers of his army to 
be accompanied by their wives. 

Gen. Bruce, a military officer of great ability who enjoyed the 
•esteem and confidence of the Czar, and was sent by him to Con- 
stantinople, relates the following- sad story, "On our return from 
the Pruth, Colonel Pitt had the misfortune to lose his beautiful 
wife and daughter by the breaking of a coach wheel. This left 
them far in the rear and they were captured by the Tarters and 
sent to Constantinople for the Seraglio. The Colonel besought 
the aid of the grand vizir but without success, and then went to 
Constantinople and failed in every effort until becoming maddened 
by repeated disappointments, he was imprisoned, but through the 
assistance of the foreign ambassadors was finally released, with 
great difficulty." 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



On the 13th of October, 17 14, Charles returned to 
Sweden disguised as a courier in a black wig, a gold 
laced hat and a blue coat. In the same year the 
Montenegrins revolted again, but were soon quieted ; 
their leader fled to Cataro, belonging to the Vene- 
tians, but as they refused to surrender him to the 
Otiomans, war was declared against Venice. 

The grand vizir Damad Ali, with 100,000 men 
and a large fleet, sailed to the Peloponnesus and 
captured it in 171 5, butchering the inhabitants by 
thousands in cold blood and selling the women and 
children into slavery. (See Scarlato, Vol. II, p. 454.) 

In 1 7 16 Prince Eugene of Austria, allying with 
Venice, informed the grand vizir that, according to 
the treaty which had been signed at Carlovitz, the 
Sublime Porte was compelled to pay an indemnity 
to the Venetians ; but as it was refused, war was 
declared, and Eugene defeated the Turks at Peter- 
warden with a loss to the latter of 30,000, among 
which was that of the grand vizir. He was succeeded 
by Halil Pasha, an Albanian ; Prince Eugene, how- 
ever, continued his campaign against the Turks and 
captured Temesvar. In 171 7 the Turkish fleet went 
to Corfu, but was compelled finally to raise the siege 
in consequence of a severe hurricane. In June of the 
same year the Sultan, with an army of 150,000, en- 
camped near Belgrade. Prince Eugene with 80,000 
men attacked the Turks after midnight and defeated 
them ; 10,000 of the Turks were killed, a great num- 
ber wounded and taken slaves, and a large amount 
of ammunition fell into the hands of the conquerers ; 

Belgrade was soon after surrendered to the Austrians. 
12 



164 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



These reverses caused the removal of the grand 
vizir; he was succeeded by Nissandji Mehmed Pasha, 
who after several months' service was followed by 
Ibrahim Damad Pasha, the son-in-law of the Sultan. 
In July, 1718, through the arbitration of England and 
Holland, the representatives of Turkey, Austria and 
Venice were assembled at Passarovitz, and after 
twelve councils, which lasted 70 days, a treaty of 
peace was finally concluded by which Austria 
retained Servia and Moldavia ; Venice possessed 
Cithyria, Parga, Preveza and the forts of Dalmatia, 
and Turkey kept Tinos, Egina, Peloponnesus and 
Crete. 

In 1 72 1 the Sultan celebrated the marriage of two 
sons and three daughters, as well as the circumcision 
of four younger sons. 

During that time the Sultan's Kiosk, or summer 
residence, which still exists, was built at Keat-Hane, 
a suburb of Constantinople. Soon after an insurrec- 
tion broke out in Persia, and the grand vizir, as well 
as Peter the Great, undertook expeditions thither, 
and thus a part of the Persian provinces were divided 
between them. 

In October, 1730, the grand vizir was strangled 
during a revolt of the Janizaries, and Sultan Ahmed II. 
was compelled to abdicate. He was confined in the 
Seraglio, where he died a natural death on the 13th 
of June, 1736. His nephew succeeded him as 
Mahmoud I. 

Sultan Ahmed III., the son of Mohammed IV., 
was born on the 24th of December, 1763, and suc- 
ceeded his brother at the age of 29. He had eighteen 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



I6 5 



sons, Mehmed, Issa, Ali, Selim, Murad, Abdul-Melek, 
Bayezid, Murad Selim, Mustafa III., Seifedin, Hassan, 
Mehmed, Suleyman, Abd-ul-lah, Nouman, Abdul- 
Hamid, and Suleyman. The greater part of them 
died during their father's life-time, one was killed 
and two reigned as Sultans ; he also had twenty 
daughters, married to pashas. 



XXVI. 
SULTAN MAHMOUD I. 
I 730-I 754. 

On the 1 8th of October, 1730, the new Sultan 
girded on him the sword of his progenitors with the 
usual ceremonies, and distributed gifts, as customary, 
to -the Janizaries. Silihtar Mehmed Pasha was ap- 
pointed grand vizir. He was influenced by the 
chief of the revolters, Patrona Halil, an officer of 
the Janizaries, to depose many pashas ; among them 
was Gregorius Guiga, the Prince of Moldavia, who 
was succeeded by a Greek butcher, Yanaki, a friend 
of Patrona Halil. The pashas then united, killed 
Patrona Halil, the grand vizir was removed and 
suceeded by Kaba-coulac Ibrahim Pasha, who tried 
to quell the disorders in the capital by putting 
Yanaki and 7,000 of his supporters to death ; while 
the Princes of Wallachia, and Moldavia, Constan- 
tine Mavracofdato and Gregorius Giuga were re- 
appointed. Soon after this the grand vizir was 
removed, and was succeeded by Osman Topal, or 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



"lame," a Greek slave of Peloponnesus, converted in 
boyhood and kept in the Seraglio, who took the 
command oi the army, defeated the Persians ; peace 
was concluded and Tauris was restored to the Per- 
sians. The Sultan was indignant at these conditions, 
removed the grand vizir in March, 1732, and ap- 
pointed Ali Pasha Hekim-Zade, a Venetian by birth. 

Osman Pasha Topal was reappointed general 
commander of the Turkish army, consisting of 100,- 
000 men, and in July, 1773, defeated the Persians 
near the River Tigris and retook Bagdad. In a second 
engagement with the Persians near Kerkoud, the 
Turks were defeated, and Osman Topal Pasha fell 
dead on the battlefield. During this period, three 
grand vizirs were removed in succession. 

The Sultan abolished all the festivals and holy 
days which had been introduced during the reign of 
his father, Ahmed, and retained only the Mevlout, or 
the birth day of their prophet, which since has been 
celebrated with great pomp. 

Augustus II., King of Poland, being dead, Stanis- 
laus Leczynski was proclaimed his successor, he was 
protected by France, but Russia rejected him, and 
seized Warsaw, the capital of Poland, and the son 
of Augustus was proclaimed king. 

On the 25th of June, 1736, the dethroned Sultan 
Ahmed III., who had been secluded in the Seraglio, 
died. 

During this time the Russians subdued the 
Crimea, and allying with the Austrians declared 
war against the Turks, who to avoid hostilities con- 
cluded peace at Niemeroy, a Polish town ; the Sul- 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



tan was displeased at this, removed the grand vizir 
and appointed Abdulah Pasha Mohsinzade his suc- 
cessor. The treaty of Niemerov being rejected, the 
Russians again invaded the Crimea, and subdued 
two fortresses near Azoff, but the Turks, in the 
effort to regain it, were defeated with a loss of 
20,000 men ; meanwhile the Austrians subdued Nissa 
and Croatia, afterwards retaken by the Turks. The 
grand vizir Hadji Mehmed Pasha marched against 
the Austrians and defeated them at Krozka with a 
loss of 10,000; then attempted to capture Belgrade, 
but he was unsuccessful and w T as defeated by the 
Russians at Choczin. Finally, through the inter- 
vention of France, peace was concluded, and Bel- 
grade was ceded to the Turks in 1739. In April, 
1740, the Sultan celebrated the marriages of his 
three daughters to different pashas. 

In the same year the Emperor of Austria, Charles 
IV., died and Maria Theresa, his daughter, ascended 
the throne. 

In 1 741, the Sultan, imitating the example of 
Ahmed I. and Murad IV., sent an expedition to 
Mecca bearing valuable gifts. 

In the meantime, the Shah Nadir of Persia, made de- 
mands which were rejected by theTurks, who declared 
Avar against him in 1743, which lasted three years. 

Mahmoud I. was the first Turkish sovereign w T ho 
allowed the ambassador of a European power to 
visit different apartments in his palace ; granting 
this privilege to the French ambassador Castellan, 
who, with his suite, had received medals bearing the 
monogram of the Sultan. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



The Sultan was passionately fond of music, and 
was the first to introduce European music in the 
Seraglio. 

In 1747 Shah Nadir was assassinated by his own 
pashas, and was succeeded by his son Mirza. 

Mustafa Pasha, governor of Rhodes, took an envoy 
of the Sultan from the Island of Rhodes to Asia 
Minor. On his return to Rhodes in January, 1748, 
he had a crew of Maltese, Greeks, Turks and Arabs. 
Among the last was a young man named Kara- 
Mehmed of violent temper who had been, as he 
thought, unjustly treated, and who determined to 
kill the governor in revenge. He informed the 
Maltese and Greek slaves who were on board, of his 
plans. Finally they attacked the crew at a signal, 
killed some, threw others overboard and disarmed 
the rest. The governor's life was saved through the 
interposition of a Maltese youth, but he was kept a 
prisoner in his cabin. On the first of February the 
mutineers reached Malta and were received by the 
grand master and his staff with due honors. Mus- 
tafa was kept a prisoner in the castle of St. Elmo, 
but afterwards, through the efforts of the French 
ambassador, was allowed to live in a private house 
near Valletta, and to correspond with his friends in 
Constantinople. In the meantime, Kara Mehmed, 
the cause of all Mustafa's misfortunes, was on 
friendly terms with the grand master, who finally 
persuaded him to become a Christian. Kara 
Mehmed nominally embraced Christianity, only to 
carry out a most diabolical plot against the grand 
master. As a Mohammedan he naturally regretted 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



169 



having surrendered one of rank and of his own faith 
to the enemies of Islam, and determined to atone 
for it by the massacre of the grand master Emmanuel 
Pinto and his knights, with the surrender of the 
Island to the Ottoman government. 

The plan was approved by Mustafa, and a slave 
who held a position of trust in the palace, was to 
strike off the grand master's head, which was to be 
followed by a slaughter of all the knights. One of 
the soldiers, a Maltese, learning of the plot, informed 
the grand master of it ; by the next morning the 
baseness of Mehmed was known in every direction, 
and an immense crowd demanded his instant death. 
Mustafa was again confined in the castle of St. 
Elmo ; Kara Mehmed, with forty-eight of the ring 
leaders of this conspiracy, were executed. 

In 1748 the Kurds revolted in Constantinople in 
order to plunder Bezesten, but the grand vizir, 
through the Janizaries, succeeded in dispersing 
them. 

Bezesten is the most Oriental of the Bazaars devoted to the sale 
of jewelry and bric-a-brac, largely of a military kind ; besides 
this, there are two others, the Grand Tcharsi or bazaar, and the 
Missir Tcharsi or spice market. These are ancient stone build- 
ings covered with vaulted roofs, and lighted by windows. 

In the year 1750 the Janizaries revolted, and three 
grand vizirs were appointed in succession. 

On the 25th of December, 1754, Sultan Mahmoud 
I. died of old age, and was succeeded by his brother, 
Osman III. Mahmoud I., son of Mustafa II., was 
born on the 2d of August, 1696, and succeeded his 
uncle at the age of thirty-five. He laid the founda- 



170 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



tion of the mosque Nourri Osmanie in 1748, on the 
second hill of Constantinople, which was completed 
by his successor, Osman III. 

XXVII. 
SULTAN OSMAN III. 

I754-I757- 

The accession of the new Sultan was celebrated 
with the usual ceremonies. 

His reign of three years was a time of peace for 
the Ottoman Empire, with the exception of the suc- 
cessive appointment of four grand vizirs. 

Sultan Osman spent much time in going around 
his capital in disguise, and thus became aware of the 
condition of his people unknown to them. He regu- 
lated the clothing of his Greek, Armenian and 
Jewish subjects; the covering of their heads con- 
sisted of large cylindrical lamb skin caps of different 
shapes and colors ; coarse colored cloaks, the shoes 
of the Greeks were black, of the Armenians red, the 
Jews blue, and yellow to be worn by the Mussulmen, 
whether men or women. The Greek and Armenian 
women were dressed like the Turkish until the reign 
of Mahmoud II. 

On the 13th of November, 1757, Sultan Osman 
died a natural death, and was succeeded by his 
nephew, Mustafa III. Osman III., son of Mustafa 
II., was born on the 29th of March, 1696, and suc- 
ceeded his brother at the age of filty-eight, without 
issue. 



XXVIII. 

SULTAN MUSTAFA III. 
1757-1774. 

Mustafa III., after a long confinement in the 
Seraglio, ascended the throne at the age of fifty. 

War with Russia was declared in the latter part of 
1768. The grand vizir was compelled to flee, and 
thus the Russians captured Choczin and Moldavia, 
and slaughtered all the Turks in Wallachia. This 
caused the removal of the grand vizir and the re-ap- 
pointment of Halil Pasha. 

Russia sent a fleet in October, 1769, from Cron- 
stadt to Peloponnesus, commanded by Admiral 
Spiridof, with a land force under the two generals 
Theodore and Alexios Orloff. 

General Orloff besieged Coron and Modon with- 
out success, and as Morea was in revolt, marched 
with its assistance against Tripolitza, but they were 
defeated by the Turks on account of the lack of 
troops. 

The Russians held Cyclades for a short time, but 
when they sailed for Tchesme, the Greeks were left 
unprotected and exposed to the cruelties of the 
Turks. The Patriarch Meletios was blinded and 
exiled ; many were slaughtered in cold blood in 
Thessaly and Larissa. At the island of Limnos the 
Bishop and all the priests were cruelly tortured and 
beheaded, while at Smyrna the Christians were 
savagely butchered as they were coming out of the 
church of St. Photini. 

171 



172 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



The Russians on their arrival at Tchesme attacked 
the Turkish fleet under Admiral Djezaerli Hassan 
and destroyed it totally in July, 1770. 

In the same year the Russians subdued Bender, 
Akerman, Braila, Galatz and Kilia, the grand vizir 
retreated and returned to Constantinople, with 
scarcely 3,000 men. The Sultan was very indignant 
and beheaded the grand vizir, appointing instead 
Silihtar Mehmed Pasha, who was also defeated by 
the Russians with the loss of the Crimea. After this 
Mohsinzade Mehmed Pasha succeeded as grand 
vizir. 

Hostilities commenced in 1772, and Mohsinzade 
marched against the Russians without success. 
These defeats greatly distressed the Sultan, who 
died a natural death on the 25th of December, 1773, 
and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid L 

He built a mosque at Scutari in 1760, and another 
called Kipir at Indjirkeui, a village on the Bosphorus r 
as well as a bath and a fountain called Tchoukur- 
Tchesme in 1763. Mustafa III. was born on the 3d 
of February, 1717. He had five daughters and two 
sons, Selim III., and Mehmed, the latter died before 
his father. 

The baths in Turkey are not only used for cleansing purposes, 
but figure very largely in their religious ceremonies. The wealthy 
Turks do not patronize the public baths, but have them built in 
their residences for their own private use. 

The main bath is a large room paved with marble, from which 
open several smaller ones. It is lighted from above by glass 
lenses inserted in the cupola. In ail the rooms are faucets furnish- 
ing cold and hot water, under which there are marble basins 
about twenty inches wide and fifteen inches in depth, placed 
twenty inches above the floor. 



XXIX. 

SULTAN ABDUL HAMID I, 
1773-1789. 

Abdul Hamid was five years old when his father 
died, and ascended the throne after 45 years, confine- 
ment in the Seraglio. Upon assuming the reins of 
the government his first step was to omit the 
customary distribution of presents to the army, and 
since then this custom has been abolished. 

Hostilities commenced again on the Danube, which 
were of short duration, for on the 22A of June, 1774, 
after seven hours' council, a definite treaty of peace 
was concluded at Kainardji. The conditions were 
the restoration of the forts to the Sublime Porte, ex- 
cept Kertch, Yeni Kale, Azoff, Kilburn, and Kabar- 
tas ; the free passage of the Black and Egean seas ; 
the change of prisoners, the title of Emperor to the 
Czars ; the protection by Russia of the Christians in 
Turkey. 

War w r as soon again declared between Russia and 
Turkey, and the Empress Catharine II., an implac- 
able enemy of the Turks, made an alliance with the 
Emperor of Austria, Joseph II., in 1787, who in an 
engagement with them narrowly escaped capture. 

Admiral Hassan, with his fleet sailed against the 
Russians, who were besieging Oczakof. But the 
Turks abandoned the enterprise and commenced to 
butcher the inhabitants of a neighboring village, 
after their fashion ; the Russians, thirsting for 
vengance, pressed forward and killed 30,000 Turks. 

173 



174 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY 



In 1787 Ali Pasha Tepedelin of Yanina, resolved to 
control Greece and treacherously murdered many 
of its brave men ; but in 1788, Suli being assisted by 




Ali Pasha Tepedelin of Yanina. 



the brave Andrutso of Atalant, and Marco Bozzaris, 
resisted and defeated Ali Pasha. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY, 



175 



Ali Pasha Tepedelin was born at Tepelene in the 
year 1750, and belonged to an Albanian family, which 
had long been Mohammedans. In 1788 he distin- 
guished himself in a battle against the Austrians, be- 
came Pasha of Tricala and Thessaly, and finally pro- 
claimed himself Pasha of Yanina in Epirus. 

All his acts were marked with treachery and 
fiendish cruelty. At last wishing to become master 
of Albania, Thessaly, Greece and Ionian Islands, he 
revolted against the Sultan, but was finally seized 
and treacherously put to death by the Ottoman 
general, Hurshid Pasha. 

Sultan Abdul Hamid was poisoned on the 19th of 
April, 1789, and was succeeded by his nephew Selim 
III. Abdul Hamid was born on the 1st of June, 
1725. He left three sons, Mehmed, who died of 
small pox, Mustafa IV., Mahmoud II., and several 
daughters. 

XXX. 
SULTAN SELIM III. 
I 789-I 808. 

Selim III., son of Mustafa III., was 27 years of age 
when he ascended the throne. His face was thought- 
ful in expression, with black eyes and eyebrows, 
crooked nose, black beard, pitted face, tall, and 
slightly stooped. 

He wore a white silk coat lined with valuable fur, 
and a green conical cap covered with a white linen 
turban, bearing on the front a diamond brooch with 



i/6 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



feathers, and at his waist a Persian dagger set with 
precious stones. The new Sultan organized an army 
of 200,000 recruits from Albania, Bosna and Asia. 
He visited different parts of his capital in disguise ; 
deposed the grand vizir Yussuf, and appointed 
Jezaerli Hassan Pasha, who was defeated in the 
naval battle of Tchesme and saved his life by swim- 
ming. He also commanded the army during the ex- 
pedition against Russia and Austria, but he was 
totally defeated by Suvaroff, the brave Russian gen- 
eral, at the battle of Oxanio in the Delta of the Danube, 
with a loss of 20,000 men, 100 standards, and all the 
artillery. Suvaroff, with his ally, the prince of Saxe- 
Coburg, conquered many towns as well as Ismael, 
with its garrison of 40,000 Turkish troops, almost all 
of whom were killed at the assault on the 22d of De- 
cember, 1790. The Austrians conquered Servia, Wall- 
achiaand Moldavia, in the meantime the Emperor of 
Austria died in March, and was succeeded by his 
brother Leopold II., who, frightened at the attitude 
of France, concluded a treaty of peace at Sistov on 
the 16 of August, 1 79 1, by which he restored to Tur- 
key all the captured provinces and towns, and through 
the intervention of England and Prussia, peace was 
concluded at Jassy, on the 9th of January, 1792; thus 
the Crimea and part of Bassaravia was restored to 
Russia. 

The Ottoman Empire was greatly disturbed by 
Napoleon L, who sent an expedition of 35,000 troops 
to Egypt in 1798 and subdued it. He took Gaza, 
stormed Jaffa and Acre, which was stubbornly 
held by the Turks, and after heavy losses Bonaparte 




Sultan Selim III. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



179 



was forced to retire to Egypt, where on the 25th ol 

July, 1799, the battle of Aboukir was fought near 

Alexandria with a complete destruction of the 

Turkish army. But the disturbances in France 

induced Napoleon to withdraw, and peace was 

concluded in Paris in 1801. 

The invasion of Egypt by the French caused the 

inhabitants of Suli to revolt for their liberty. 

Suli is situated in Epirus, a mountainous district, very difficult 
of access. The inhabitants of Epirus took refuge there, to preserve 
the religion, customs, and liberty of their forefathers. Ali Pasha 
Tepedelin, however, being a deceitful and ferocious man, could not 
tolerate them, as they would not acknowledge his authority, and he 
attempted to subdue them. These mountaineers fought against 
the troops of Ali Pasha in 1790, and twice had repelled his attacks 
successfully. The war of the Suliotes against Ali Pasha lasted 
for many years, in which they exhibited great bravery. Ali Pasha 
found it impossible to conquer them either by force or by strategem, 
but finally they were obliged to surrender through the lack of 
provisions, and a treaty was made by which they would be allowed 
to emigrate with their arms and personal effects. This treacher- 
ous Pasha, however, violated the treaty at once and attacked the 
Suliotes as they were leaving their homes in three divisions. The 
first, under the command of Tchavella, reached Parga safely ; the 
second, under Coutchonica, were pursued and besieged at Zologo, 
a rocky spot above Acheron. There occured one of the most 
pathetic and horrible incidents of that epoch. The ammunitions 
and provisions being exhausted, and the women seeing that there 
was no safety for them, and realizing their dreadful fate if they fell 
into the hands of the Turks, threw their children down into the 
rocky abyss below, then clasping each other by the hand com- 
menced to sing and danced one by one over the cliff thus rapidly 
following their little ones into eternity. One hundred and fifty 
men were left out of 800, who escaped to Parga ; the third and 
last division, consisting of 1,000 Suliotes, reached a convent, but 
after a brave resistance all were killed but 45, who also reached 
Parga. Such was the heroic and tragic termination of this war. 

A powerful insurrection in Servia, headed by 

George Petrovitch, called by his countrymen 

Czerni George, greatly disturbed the Ottoman 

Empire. This intrepid leader had been in early 



13 



i8o 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



youth obliged to leave his country, in consequence 
of having killed a Turk by whom he had been 
insulted, and became a sergeant in the Austrian 
service. His call on his country to shake off the 
Ottoman 3 oke was enthusiastically obeyed, and so 
successful were his efforts, that in 1806, he became 
master of Belgrade. 

Napoleon's victories greatly surprised Selim, who 
sent Halep Effendi to congratulate him on his suc- 
cess. The French ambassador Sebastiani w^as 
received with great honor at Constantinople, which 
displeased the English and Russian ambassadors. 
Sebastiani then induced the Sultan to dethrone the 
hospodors or princes of Wallachia and Moldavia, 
Constantine Ypsilanti, and Alexander Morusi, and 
appointed instead Scarlato Calimachy and Alexander 
Sutzo. In November, 1806, the Russians invaded 
Moldavia and Wallachia without a declaration of 
war, while the English ambassador, fearing the 
intrigues of the French ambassador, who was on 
friendly terms with the Sultan, left Constantinople 
secretly on the English frigate to join the fleet at 
Tenedos. On the 20th of February the English fleet 
entered the Hellespont, arrived at Princes islands 
near Constantinople, but finding that city well 
garrisoned, the admiral, Sir John Duckworth, 
fearing that they might be shut in, in case the 
Dardanelles should be strongly fortified, left during 
the night after a stay of only eleven days. In May, 
1807, an insurrection of Janizaries caused Sultan 
Selim's deposition and he was succeeded by his 
cousin Mustafa IV. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



181 



Selim III., son of Mustafa III., was born on the 
24th of December, 1761. During his reign, he applied 
himself to the internal improvements of his kingdom 
and the re-organization of the Ottoman army, in- 
tending to dismiss gradually all the regiments of the 
Janizaries, who constantly disturbed the capital and 
thus reduced the military pride of the Ottoman 
Empire. With this in view, the Sultan sent for 
military officers from Paris in 1792, who introduced 
the first military regiments, which were called 
Nizam Djedit. These regiments were drilled on the 
basis of the French army, being under the command 
of the French general Aubert Duboyet. The Jani- 
zaries, however, refused to submit to this discipline, 
but the Sultan paid no attention to them, and took 
under his patronage the other regiments, increased 
them, and built separate barracks for them at 
Scutari bearing his name Selimieh ; and another at 
Levent Tchiflik, a place between Pera and Buyuk- 
dere. The Sultan left no issue. 



XXXI. 

SULTAN MUSTAFA IV. 
1 807-1 808. 

Mustafa IV., son of Hamid I., ascended the throne 
in the usual manner at Eyoub. 

Soon after, the Russians having subdued Wallachia 
and Moldavia, prepared to cross the Danube, but 
they were opposed by Napoleon who determined to 
march against Russia. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



The disturbances continued in the capital ; Mus- 
tafa Bairactar arrived in Constantinople on the 28th 
of July, 1808, with the banner of the prophet, and 
announced that peace was concluded with Russia. 
He forced his way with his followers to the second 
court of the palace and proclaimed Selim as Sultan, 
but when he reached the audience hall he found that 
the eunuchs had just strangled him, by the order of 
Sultan Mustafa. Bairactar with the other revolters 
deposed Mustafa at once, assassinated him and pro- 
claimed as the successor to the throne his hall- 
brother, Mahoud II. 

Mustafa IV. had no children, he was illiterate, 
and possessed but little strength of character. 



XXXII. 

SULTAN MAHMOUD II., THE REFORMER. 
I 808-I 839. 

Mahmoud II. ascended the throne in the 23d 
year of his age. He was of medium height, rosy 
complexion, with black hair, eyes and eyebrows, a 
short full black beard, he was haughty in manner 
and had a coarse voice. His first step was to punish 
the assassins of his cousin Selim and his brother 
Mustafa. During his reign the disturbances contin- 
ued to such an extent that the Sultan was greatly 
puzzled. These disturbances encouraged the Rus- 
sians to commence hostilities again. The grand 



Sultan Mahmoud II. 
Grandfather of the reigning Sultan. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



I8 5 



vizir marched with 20,000 troops against the Rus- 
sians and was defeated near Giurgevo. The Rus- 
sians captured several forts on the Black Sea, but at 
last were obliged to withdraw on account of the ad- 
vance of Napoleon with his large army. A treaty 
was concluded between Russia and Turkey at Buch- 
arest in 1812, more advantageous to the former than 
to the latter. 

The new grand vizir, Hurshid Ahmed Pasha, sent 
a strong force against the revolting Servians ; Czerni 
George, after a brave resistance, had fled for safety 
to Russia, and thus, with great slaughter, Servia was 
subdued in 181 3. Czerni attempted to renew the 
war in 181 7, but was betrayed to the Turks and 
executed. 

The Greeks had sunk into a state of ignorance 
and inaction, but toward the close of the last cen- 
tury, through the efforts of Constantine Riga Phereo, 
who by his personal efforts, the enthusiasm of his 
books, and the patriotism of his odes, succeeded in 
uniting the Greeks to fight for their liberty and 
thus to throw off the intolerable yoke of Turkey. 
He was betrayed, however, by the Austrian govern- 
ment, which was friendly with the Turks, and was 
surrendered with his comrades to the- Pasha of Bel- 
grade, who condemned them to be drowned in the 
river Istros. His cruel executioners found it diffi- 
cult to overpower him and he was finally shot. Just 
before expiring he said : " In this manner the brave 
end their lives ; I have sowed enough seed ; and the 
hour is approaching when my nation shall gather 
the sweet fruit." 



186 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



In 1820 the Heteria, a secret society, was formed 
from the higher ranks of the Greeks, to establish the 
independence of their country. 

The town of Parga was purchased from the Eng- 
lish by the cruel and blood thirsty Ali Pasha of 
Yanina, in his revolt against the Sultan ; it was the 
last retreat of the brave inhabitants of Suli. 

Parga, situated on the border of Epirus, came under the control 
of the Venetians in 1401 ; afterwards it was held by the French, 
and in 18 14, after the fall of Napoleon, was taken by the English 
and sold to Ali Tepedelin Pasha of Yanina, who intended to exter- 
minate its people. When they heard the dreadful news, they deter- 
mined not to fall into the hands of the Turks, and decided to kill 
their wives and children, then to fight until the last. An English 
officer hearing of their determination hastened to Corfu, and re- 
ported it to High Commissioner Maitland. He sent General 
Adams, a kind hearted man, to investigate the matter,who finally 
succeeded in checking the advance of Ali's army, and persuaded 
the people of Parga to remove to Corfu. Thus the village was 
evacuated and then occupied by Ali Pasha's troops. 

Prince Alexander Ypsilanti was chosen leader of 
the Heteria in February, 1821. In March of the same 
year he crossed the Pruth, and erected his standard 
in Moldavia; but on the 17th of June, through the 
treachery of some of his officers, was defeated. 

In this battle, the Hieros Lochos or " Sacred 
Band," consisting of 400 youthful students, the pride 
of their country, refusing to yield fell bravely on the 
field of Chaeronia Ypsilanti retreated into Austria, 
intending to pass into southern Greece, where the 
insurrection had extended, but he was seized by the 
Austrians and held as a prisoner. 

When the news of the revolt in Greece reached 
Constantinople, the Turks began to massacre all the 
unfortunate Greeks in their possessions. Among 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



others was the Patriarch Gregorius V., 70 years 01 
age, who on Easter Monday (old style), was visited 
by two officers sent by the Sultan, the first of whom 
appointed another Patriarch, while the second officer, 
Keseder or executioner, ordered the venerable priest 
to be conveyed to prison. According to the historians 
Pouqueville and Gordon, eighteen or twenty bishops 
and priests were confined in the same prison ; efforts 
were made in vain to convert them to Islamism ; they 
were tormented by having their heads bound with 
iron chains, their bodies terribly lacerated, and finally 
they were beheaded. The Patriarch alone was 
spared and was conveyed to Fanar, a village in the 
harbor of the Golden Horn. After suffering much 
indignity and many cruelties, he was hanged on one 
of the gates of the Patriarchate (which has since been 
kept closed) and after dragging his corpse through 
the filthy streets, it was thrown into the sea. The 
lifeless body floated near a Greek ship, carrying the 
Russian flag, owned by John Sclavo, a Cephalonian, 
which was lying near the bridge of Galata; it was 
recognized by the archdeacon of the Patriarchate, 
who was on board intending to sail for Odessa. 
Instantly the crew drew it up and tenderly conveyed 
it to Odessa, where his funeral was held with great 
pomp and solemnity, the entire expense being paid by 
the Czar. 

Similar scenes took place in different parts of the 
Turkish Empire, and it seemed as if this was the 
total extermination of the Christians which had been 
resolved upon by the Turks. On the 11th of April, 
1822, the Capedan Pasha Kara Ali, with a powerful 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



ileet, was sent to quell an insurrection in the island 
of Scio, excited by Bourna, a Sciote, formerly in the 
French army. He wished to free the island from 
the Turkish yoke ; went to Samos, persuaded its 
governor to assist him, but the attempt was unsuc- 
cessful. The Turkish troops, 7,000 in number, landed 
and commenced to butcher its unoffending people, 
and by the end of May, 25,000 men, women and child- 
ren had been murdered, and 45,000 taken into slavery, 
many of whom were sold in the markets of Con- 
stantinople, Egypt and Barbary, while 15,000 suc- 
ceeded in escaping to Greece. It is impossible to 
describe the horrors and fiendish outrages enacted 
on this island at that time. 

A pathetic incident occurred in connection with a young Scian 
who had escaped, and learned that his beautiful young sister Marigo 
had been taken captive and placed in a harem in Constantino- 
ple. He determined to find her, and for this purpose, as a pedler 
of chewing gum, went through the streets of the Turkish quarters 
calling MapiyGO, 6 Kooorffo o Maarija V, or " Marigo, 
Constantine the gum-seller," the first being her name, the second 
his, in order to attract her attention. In this way, after a long 
patient search, he discovered his sister and finally succeeded in 
aiding her to escape. 

After these dreadful scenes, and while a part of 
the Turkish fleet was anchored near Scio celebrating 
the eve of Bairam, two heroic men, Constantine 
Canaris of Psara and George Pipinis of Hydra, de- 
termined to prevent it from attacking Samos ; with 
thirty-two brave companions, they sailed in two 
brigs fitted up as fire ships, accompanied by several 
other vessels carrying the French and Austrian 
colors. They approached the Turkish flagship at 
night and set fire to it. The powder magazine ex- 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



189 



ploded, killing the crew, consisting of 2,986 Turks, 
with many of the captains, officers and unfortunately 
a great many Scian slaves, women and children. 
The Capedan Pasha escaped in a boat, but a falling 
mast sunk it, and Kari Ali was dragged to the 
beach and died on the same spot where the Sciote 
hostages had been tortured. Canaris, with his fol- 
lowers, after his success, returned to Psara. Several 
Turkish war vessels afterwards met with the same 
fate from the brave Canaris and his associates. 
Many came from different parts of Europe to aid the 
Greeks in their struggle for freedom ; among them 
was the renowned poet, Lord Byron, who died at 
Messolonghi on the 18th of April, 1824, at the age of 
thirtv-seven. 

On the ist day of July the newly appoinied Cape- 
dan Pasha, with a fleet of eighty-two vessels and 
14,000 troops, arrived at Psara and attacked it. Many 
were killed, others escaped, the remainder of the 
garrison with their wives and children fled to the 
Convent of St. Nicholas, which, after a long struggle, 
was blown up, thus destroying thousands of the 
besiegers and the besieged. 

The same horrible fate befell the inhabitants of 
the Islands Kassandra, Niaousa, and Kasos. On the 
first about 1,000 men and women perished ; on the 
second it is estimated that 20,000 of both sexes were 
killed and taken slaves ; many maidens and mothers, 
clinging to their children, madly threw themselves 
into the sea to escape their ferocious assailants. 

Kasos, the last island, was entirely desolated by 
Mohammed Ali. Two thousand children were 



190 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



sent to the slave market in Alexandria ; the boys 
by his order were forcibly proselyted through the 
rite of circumcision before they left the island. 
(See History of Greece, by A. J. Antoniades, p. 306.) 

In 1825 the Christian inhabitants of Cyprus were 
charged with complicity in the revolution in Greece. 
Kutchuk Mehmed, its governor, invited the clergy 
and nobles to a council at Nicosia. After their arrival 
the gates were closed, and with a few exceptions, all 
were most treacherously murdered. (See History 
of Cyprus by R. Hamilton Lang, late H. M. Consul 
for the Island of Cyprus.) 

In the same year Ibrahim Pasha, the adopted son 
of Mohammed Ali, viceroy of Egypt, landed in the 
Morea with an Egyptian army, and during his entire 
expedition his course was marked with the most in- 
desirable cruelties to the Greeks. A market was 
opened at Methoni for the sale of young people of 
both sexes, while the adults were condemned to hard 
labor in the galleys. 

On the 6th of July, 1827, the representatives of 
England, France and Russia met in London and 
signed a treaty for the protection of Greece ; orders 
were then sent to the fleets of these three great 
powers under Sir Edward Codrington in the Medi- 
terranean, to put a stop to the fighting, and if possible 
proclaim an armistice. The Turks being unwilling 
to comply with this, attacked the allied fleet in the 
harbor of Navarino, and in a short and fierce engage- 
ment were totally destroyed. This defeat enraged 
the Sultan and he positively refused to make any 
terms with the Greeks, and the ambassadors of the 



The Royal Family of Greece. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY, 



193 



three powers left Constantinople. The next year 
the Russians invaded Turkey, and finally compelled 
its ruler to enter into a treaty. 

Meanwhile the French had invaded the Morea 
to assist the Greeks, and obliged Ibrahim to leave 
that country for Egypt. Thus the freedom of 
Greece was assured, and under the control of the 
three allied powers, Count John Capodistria of Corfu 
was proclaimed ruler of Greece, but he was assassin- 
ated in 1 83 1 . On the 6th of February, 1833, Otho, 
second son of Louis, King of Bavaria, was proclaimed 
the first King of Greece at the age of eighteen, but 
after a reign of 30 years he was dethroned and suc- 
ceeded in 1862 by the present sovereign William 
II., son of Christian IX., King of Denmark as 
George I. He married in 1867 the grand Duchess 
Olga, the eldest daughter of the Grand Duke 
Constantine of Russia. 

During the last revolutionary war in Greece, a 
most notable event occurred in Constantinople, 
which was the extinction of the famous corps of the 
Janizaries. Sultan Mohamned II., seeing that they 
were unruly and would not comply with the new 
military regulations, resolved to exterminate them. 
He succeeded in gaining the confidence of Hussein 
Pasha, their Agha or chief ; Kara Jehennem, chief of 
the artillery, and Bostandji Bashi, the head of the 
life guards. He effected this coup d'etat successfully. 
The Janizaries having no suspicion of what had been 
done, obeyed the command of their chief Hussein 
Pasha, gathered from all parts of the capital on the 
9th of July, 1826, and assembled in their barracks at 



194 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



At-Maidin, in readiness to resist any attempt on the 
part of the Sultan to compel their submission. 
Mahmoud II. invited all Mussulmen who were true 
to him, and to the Holy standard of the prophet, 




Queen Alga of Greece in the National Uniform. 



to meet in the court of the Seraglio, where the 
Sheikh-ul-Islam and the Ulemas pronounced the 
abolition of the Janizaries, while his body guard and 
a portion of the artillery were assembled ready for 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY, 



195 



action. The Sultan risked his life frequently by 1 
going on horseback among the crowds of Janizaries, 
which was a brave act on his part. Suddenly orders 
were given to the gunners to fire upon the barracks, 
and assisted by the infantry, thousands of the 
Janizaries were killed within its four walls, while all 
who attempted to escape were shot down. 

With the extinction of the Janizaries, the Sultan 
ordered all the heads of their tombstones to be 
destroyed. These were composed of marble pillars, 
terminating in a globe, bearing some resemblance to 
a human head and decorated with a turban, the form 
and folds of which indicated the rank of the 
deceased ; but now the shape has been altered into 
that of a fez, which is colored. 

Life sized models of the Janizaries are exhibited 
in a building called Kilitch-Hane at At-Meiden in Con- 
stantinople. The atrocities committed by this corps 
are beyond description ; thousands of innocent 
Christians have been slaughtered in cold blood for 
mere caprice. Every Sunday they would assemble 
at all of the Christian churches, and having scattered 
some dirt near the door a broom was placed beside 
it, and the Christians who passed by were compelled 
either to sweep it away, or to contribute something 
towards its removal ; or if a Christian happened to 
pass a Janizary, while he was sharpening his 
Yataghan, a kind of broad sabre, it was frequently 
tried on his body. 

In 1829 Nicholas L, Emperor of Russia, declared 
war against Turkey ; a Russian army crossed the 
Danube and arrived at the entrance of the Helles- 



14 



196 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



pont and Bosphorus, but the Turks were frightened 
and asked for peace. A treaty was signed at 
Adrianople, on the 14th of September, 1829, on 
condition that the Ottoman government should 
pay the entire indemnity of the war. 




Kazaz Artin. 



During that time, Turkey was saved from the 
monetary crisis caused by the payment of those 
indemnities to Russia, by a prominent Armenian, 
Kazaz Artin, a resident of Constantinople. The 
government treasury was empty and Sultan Mah- 



Facsimile of the Coins first used by Kazaz Artin to pay the Armenian Bankers. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



moud II. was in despair for it was utterly impossible 
for him to raise the money, but through the ingenuity 
of Kazaz Artin, who procured a loan from the 
Armenian bankers of Constantinople, the amount 
was paid to the Russians. The money was soon 
after returned to these bankers in " Beshlik," a coin 
composed of copper and silver, of which very little 
is now in circulation. 

This remarkable man exercised a strong influence over Sultan 
Mahmoud, who in return was very fond of him and in many ways 
showed his partiality for him. An incident illustrating this is 
related. Several ladies from the Imperial Karem were in the 
habit of riding cut occasionally, closely veiled, and escorted on 
horseback by the eunuchs of the palace, who were Nubians. It 
was the custom of the bystandt rs sitting outside the coffee shops 
to rise and salute the Nubians as they passed, and on one occasion 
Kazaz Artin for some reason omitted doing so. He received a 
severe blow on the face from the negro, which bruised his cheek 
and tying it up with his handkerchief he went at once to Sultan 
Mahmoud, who inquired concerning the cause of the injury, and 
Kazaz Artin related the occurrence. The Sultan was very 
indignant and ordered the chief eunuch Kizler Aghassi to call all 
the others into his presence, and name those who had been out 
during the day, while at the same time by his command the 
executioners were assembled in an adjoining room. The Sultan 
asked Kazaz Artin to point out the offender, who was immediately 
strangled in the presence of all as a warning to the others. The 
Sultan then said to them : " This man is my faithful friend, he must 
at all times be treated with respect by every one of you." 

In July, 1830, Turkey lost Algeria, which was sub- 
dued by the French. 

In 1 83 1 Commodore David Porter was commis- 
sioned Charge d'Affaires to the Sublime Porte at 
Constantinople, and in 1839 as Minister Resident. 
During his administration there, the first treaty was 
made by the United States with Turkey, by which 
all American citizens are entitled to the same privi- 



200 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



leges as those of other nations. He died at his post, 
at St. Stefano, a suburb of Constantinople, on the 4th 
of February, 1843. 

In 1831 Henry # Eckford, a prominent naval archi- 




Warren Hidden Effendi. 
Superintendent of the works in the Imperial Ottoman Mint. Taken at 76 years of age. 

tect of Scotch descent, sailed from New York for 
Constantinople in his beautiful vessel, known as a 
sloop of war, bearing his name, hoping to contract 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



20I 



with the Turkish government for the construction 
of war vessels. Mahmoud II. declined to make any 
contract for ships to be built in another country, but 
engaged Mr. Eckford to superintend the navy yards 
in Turkey. He sent to New York for a number of 
skillful workmen, who came over in a ship named 
the America ; only one vessel however — the frigate 
Nizaretteer — was built before Mr. Eckford's death, 
which occurred in Constantinople, November 12, 
1832. Mr. Eckford was a man of remarkable genius, 
as well as of original and scientific methods. He was 
a great favorite of Sultan Mahmoud II. and his mys- 
terious death, in the prime of life, was a great loss, 
not only to the ship building interests of Turkey, 
but also to that of his adopted country — the United 
States. His influence, however, was felt in Turkey, 
for all the men-of-war were built for a long time 
after his models. Mr. Eckford was succeeded by 
Mr. Foster Rhodes, who had been his foreman and 
who afterward received a brilliant decoration in the 
shape of a miniature vessel, which the Sultan re- 
quested him to wear every day. After a few years 
Mr. Rhodes returned of his own accord to America 
and was appointed Naval Constructor at the U. S. 
Navy Yard in Brooklyn. He was accompanied by 
all the Americans there, except Mr. J. Reeves and 
Mr. Warren Hidden of New York, both of whom 
had married Russian ladies, natives of Constanti- 
nople. Mr. Reeves soon left Turkey ; Mr. Hidden, 
— father of the author, whose ancestors came from 
Haddon Hall, Derbyshire, England, — left his native 
land on October 12, 1832, at the age of 20, and after 



202 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY, 



seven years' service in the government arsenal, he 
was appointed on the ist of January, 1840, superin- 
tendent of all the works in the Imperial Ottoman 
Mint, and during fifty-five successive years in his 
official position received two decorations ; one the 
Nisham Iftihar, or prize of glory, set with diamonds 
from Sultan Abdul Medjid, son of Mahmoud II.; also 
the order of Osmanie or military prize from the 
reigning Sultan Abdul Hamid II. (For further par- 
ticulars see, " An American Machinist in Turkey," 
in Supplement of Scientific American, March 2, 
1895 ) 

The first American missionary, the Rev. Dr. W. 
Goodell, arrived at Constantinople in 1831; he was 
followed successively by Rev. Messrs. Dwight, 
Schauffler and Dr. Holmes ; they were afterwards 
joined by others, and in 1872 a magnificent Bible 
House at Flindjandjilar street in Stamboul was 
erected for the use of the mission. 

Serious troubles occupied the attention of Sultan 
Mahmoud II. Mohammed Ali Pasha, governor of 
Egypt, was ambitious and desired to secure the vice 
royalty for himself, as well as the control of Syria 
and a part of Asia Minor. He sent his son Ibrahim 
Pasha with a large army and subdued Gaza, Jaffa, 
Kaiaffa, Ptolemais, and Damascus and defeated 
Hussein Pasha, as well as the army of the grand 
vizir Reshit, who was taken prisoner in December, 
1832, after a brave resistance. 

The Sultan was terrified and asked Russia for 
assistance against Ibrahim ; who, meanwhile, had 
subdued several towns in Asia Minor, arrived at 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



203 



Smyrna, over which he appointed a governor. In 
February, 1833, the Russian fleet arrived in the Bos- 
phorus, and anchored at Hunkiar Skelessi, landed 
15,000 troops, under the command of General Orloff ; 
England and France induced Ibrahim Pasha to 
evacuate the subdued towns in Asia Minor, and the 
Russian fleet left Constantinople ; on their departure, 
a massive stone was erected as a memorial, which 
still exists. Mohammed Ali then was acknowledged 
as hereditary vice-roy of Egypt, to which was 
annexed Syria and Adana ; and to Ibrahim Pasha, 
Ptolmais, Aleppo, Tripoli and Damascus. 

In 1838 Mohammed Ali Pasha and his son Ibrahim 
Pasha, renewed hostilities with great loss to the 
Turks. While France was arbitrating, Sultan 
Mahmoud was poisoned on the 1st of July, 1839, a t 
his Imperial Kiosk, or summer residence at Tcham- 
lidja, a village in Scutari. 

Mahmoud II., son of Abdul Hamid L, was born on 
the 20th of July, 1785; during his reign both the 
bridges of Galata and Azab-capou were constructed. 
He also built the Stamboul tower of white stone on 
the square of Seraskerat or the Ministry of War ; 
and in 1830 the mosque of Top-Hane. Beyond Top- 
Hane, on the same road, is another mosque built by 
the Admiral Kilitch Ali Pasha in 1580, renowned for 
the collection of faience which decorates the interior. 
Sultan Mahmoud was very voluptuous, but bold and 
vigorous in character. He established the first 
medical college in Constantinople ; as well as the 
first Turkish journal under the title of the " Otto- 
man Monitor." He achieved a most difficult feat, 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



that of abolishing the use of the turban among his 
troops, and approximating their uniform, arms, and 
military discipline to the standard of European 
nations, and also made great changes in the cere- 
mony of the Turkish court and in the Seraglio. 

His dress consisted of a light blue silk jacket, 
closely buttoned up to the neck, a small diamond 
badge on the breast and trousers of crimson silk, 
white stockings and European shoes. 

He left two sons, Medjid, and Aziz, and four 

daughters, all married. 

Diplomatic relations between the United States and the 
Mohammedan countries commenced on the ist of June, 1792, 
when President Washington appointed Admiral John Paul Jones 
a commissioner to treat with Algiers in regard to the ransom of 
captives, with Thomas Barclay as substitute. Unfortunately Ad- 
miral Jones died before his commission was received, followed soon 
after by the death of Barclay. Finally David Humphreys of Con- 
necticut, Minister Resident to Portugal; James Donaldson, Jr., 
consul to Tunis and Tripoli with Pierre Eric Skjoldebrand, Con- 
sul at Algiers, composed the commission. At first they were un- 
successful, but finally Joel Barlow was added to the number and a 
treaty was concluded between the two countries. This afterwards 
prepared the way for the first treaty between the United States 
and the Sublime Porte. The first minister who went to Turkey 
was ex-commodore David Porter ; he was succeeded by Dabney S. 
Carr, of Maryland ; then in succession by George P. Marsh of 
Vermont, May 29, 1849 ; Carroll Spence of Maryland, Aug. 23, 
1853 ; James Williams of Tennessee, January 14,1858; Edward 
Joy Morris of Pennsylvania, June 8, 1 861 ; Wagne MacVeagh of 
Pennsylvania, June 4,1870; George H. Boker, of Pennsylvania, 
November 3, 1871 ; Horace Maynard, of Tennessee, March 9, 1875;. 
James Longstreet, of South Carolina, Jun t 14,1880; Gen. Lew 
Wallace, of Indiana, May 19, 1 881 ; Samuel S. Cox, of New York, 
March 25, 1885 ; Oscar S. Straus, of New York, March 24, 1887 ; 
Solomon Hirsch, of Oregon, May 16, 1889; David P. Thompson, 
of Oregon, November 15, 1892; Alexander W. Terrell, of Texas, 
April 15, 1893. 

The next in rank to U. S. Minister is that of Secretary of the 
Legation and the Dragoman or Interpreter ; the former acts as 
Charge d' affairs at any time during the absence of the minister ; 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 20$ 



the latter is the medium of communication between the Sublime 
Porte and the Legation. This position was rilled for 36 years bv 
Mr. John P. Brown of Ohio, well known to many Americans who 
have been in Turkey. 

The U. S. Legation at Constantinople is entirely separate from 
the U. S. Consulate in its functions and its locality. 



XXXIII. 

SULTAN ABDUL MEDJID I. 
1839-1861 A. D. 

The death of Mahmoud II. was announced to his 
son, Medjid, and on the same day, July i, the can- 
nons announced the accession of the new Sultan. His 
first act was to attend the funeral of his father, who 
was interred in his mausoleum near the Hippodrome. 

Abdul Medjid ascended the throne at the age of 
17, and belted on him, as usual, his progenitor's 
sword at Eyoub on the nth of July, 1839. 

Mohammed Ali Pasha, vice-roy of Egypt, again 
caused disturbances, but was compelled by the allied 
European powers to sign a treaty, by which he 
became subject to the Sultan, and withdrew from 
Syria and Asia Minor. 

Until the year 1842, the Keymes or treasury notes 
issued by the Ottoman government were written by 
hand, sealed by the Minister of Finance and by the 
director of the Imperial Ottoman Mint ; the smallest 
denomination was $8. But in 1843 the necessary 



206 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



machinery was constructed, and the notes were 
printed in the mint, the smallest denomination being 
10 piastres, and the highest 100. 




Sultan Aedul Medjid. 



In 1850 the Turks attacked the Island of Samos 
in their usual manner. A strong proof of this is a 
letter in the hands of the author, dated April 18, 
1850, which was sent from that island during the 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



207 



attack by the Turks, written by his friend Dr. Nich- 
olas Grammatopoulos, a physician in the Ottoman 
army, esteemed by all for his ability and skill, who 
writes to his brother-in-law that the third day of the 
attack was a most horrible and pitiful one ; churches 
were ransacked, women and girls were assaulted in 
the streets by the Turkish soldiers, one of whom, a 
beautiful young bride, was chased by the ferocious 
Turks ; she saw the doctor, called to him for help, 
and he went to her assistance at once ; after this, a 
number of young women were offered to him by the 
soldiers as gifts, all of whom he rescued. 

In 1851 Sultan Abdul Medjid was a guest at the 
house of Stefano Bogorides in Arnaout Keui on the 
Bosphorus, on the occasion of the marriage of his 
daughter to John Photiades Bey. This was entirely 
contrary to the Mussulmen custom and quite beneath 
the dignity of the Sultan. 

Nicholas I. of Russia sent Prince Mentchikoff, as 
an envoy, to make some demands from the Sublime 
Porte concerning the Holy places in Jerusalem, but 
the Ottoman government refused them, and in the 
following year the Crimean war was proclaimed. 
The Sublime Porte asked the assistance of the 
European powers, and the allied English, French and 
Italian fleet sailed to the Bosphorus and anchored 
at Beicos. The destruction of the Turkish fleet by 
the Russians at Sinope in November, 1853, caused 
the allied fleet to go to the Crimea, with a land force 
of 50,000 French troops, and 15,000 Sardinians, under 
the command of St. Arnaud ; while 25,000 English 
troops under Lord Raglan occupied Varna ; the 



208 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



meantime the Austrian army invaded Moldavia. In 
three engagements which took place respectively at 
Alma on the 20th of September, 1854; at Tchernaia 
the 26th of October, and at Inkerman on the 5th of 
November of the same year, the Russians lost about 
20,000 men ; and Sebastopol was taken on the 8th 
of September, 1855, after a siege of ten months. 
During this siege 7,557 French, 2,447 English, 
besides a number of Austrian and Sardinian troops 
were killed. In Asia, Kars was surrendered to the 
Russians on the 25th of November after a heroic 
resistance. 

On the 3d of March, 1855, Nicholas I., died and 
was succeeded by his son Alexander II. who being 
of an amiable disposition, signed a treaty of peace on 
the 30th of March, 1856. The conditions were, that 
Turkey should be independent ; foreign men of war 
were prohibited from passing through the Bosphorus 
and the Dardanelles ; the passage of the Black Sea 
and the Danube to be free for the commerce of all 
nations; and that Russia should not maintain a fleet 
in the Black Sea. 

At the close of the year 1857, Sultan Medjid sent 
Mohammed Pasha, the Rear Admiral, to the United 
States with a suite, for the purpose of having con- 
structed there a three-decker ship-of-war, to bear 
the name of the Sultan. He arrived in New York 
on the 6th of March, 1858, and on the 18th of the 
same month was formally received by President 
Buchanan. He finally left America greatly disap- 
pointed in not carrying out his plans. In i860, horri- 
ble atrocities and massacres occurred at Lebanon 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY, 



209 



_ and in Damascus, when more than 1,200 Christians 
perished at the hands of the Turks. 

On the 25th of June, 1861, Sultan Abdul Medjid 
died and was interred in his own mausoleum in the 
garden of the mosque Selimie. Abdul Medjid was 
born on the 6th of May, 1822, he was a man of 
delicate constitution and of medium statue. His 
nose had not the equiline curve, possessed by some 
of his predecessors ; his complexion w as pale, with a 
brown beard, large forehead, full black eyes and a 
mild physignomy. His costume was simple, con- 
sisting of a surtout of deep blue, white trousers, 
patent leather boots, and a red fez, in which the 
imperial aigrette of heron's feathers was fastened by 
a button of enormous diamonds. 

He erected several splendid edifices, one of which 
was the palace of Dolma Bagtche, which was com- 
pleted in 1853. Its interior is magnificently decorated 
and furnished with oriental taste and splendor* 
Others were the palace of Guiok-Suyiu or sweet 
waters of Asia ; the palace of Beicos ; two kiosks at 
Flamour in Beshik-tash, and others. 

Sultan Medjid left six sons, Murad, Hamid, Res- 
sat, Ahmed Komaleddin, Mehmed Buhran-ud-din 
and Nour-ed-din, and eight daughters married to 
pashas. He was succeeded by his brother Abdul 
Aziz in 1861. 

During the reign of Sultan Medjid, an occurrence took place 
illustrating some phrases of the Turkish character. On the mar- 
riage of his daughter, several holidays were granted to the people with 
much festivity in a large square of Constantinople. Consequently 
thousands were out on foot and in carriages. Among the latter 
was one occupied bv two ladies closeJy veiled, one of whom was the 
wife of a Turkish official. In the crowd there was a government de- 



2IO 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



tective, an Armenian, who, from certain indications, perceived that 
her companion in the carriage was a young man in disguise. He 
went at once to the police station and stated the case to the cap- 
tain in charge of that quarter, who immediately accompanied him 
to the spot. The captain watched the pair closely and was con- 
vinced that the detective was correct; he approached the carriage 
alone, and placing his hand on the open window, said, " Lady, who 
is your companion?" Knowing the consequences, she quickly 
drew off a diamond ring of great value and slipped it on one of his 
ringers. With the utmost suavity, he said, " Madame, you can re- 
main here as long as you like; you are perfectly safe now;" and 
left her with a bow. He then called several policemen and in- 
structed them to watch that carriage, and not to allow any one to 
pass it, or in any way to annoy its occupants. He returned to the 
police station, taking the detective with him, and said, "What is this 
you have done ? I am in danger of losing my position, for having 
annoyed one of the wives of the grand vizir !" Her companion was 
her daughter — not a young man. With many curses he ordered 
him to be thrashed, and kept him in confinement until the next 
day, when he was released. 



XXXIV. 

SULTAN ABDUL AZIZ I. 
I 861-1876. 

Abdul Aziz I. ascended the throne in 1861, and 
girded on the sword of Osman with the usual pomp. 

In 1862 a commercial treaty was made between 

the United States and Turkey, signed by E. Joy 

Morris, of Pennsylvania, Minister Plenipotentiary to 

the Sublime Porte, and by the Turkish Minister of 

Foreign Affairs. 

Mr. Morris, in this treaty, and all other transactions with the 
Ottoman government, exhibited great tact and dignity, requiring 
all with whom he came in contact to respect the country which he 
represented. He was formerly a United States senator from the 
state of Illinois ; a line linguist and a thorough American. A 
great compliment was paid him by the grand vizir Ali Pasha — 



\ 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 21 3 

formerly Minister of Foreign Affairs — when Mr. Morris 'went to 
bid him farewell at the time of his return to the United States. 
The accomplished diplomat shook hands most warmly with the 
American Minister and said to him: " You are an honor to your 
country and to your countrymen." 

In 1863 the first National exhibition in Turkey 
was opened at At-Meidan. 

In 1866 the inhabitants of Crete, wishing to free 
themselves from the cruelty of the Turkish yoke 
and to be annexed to Greece, revolted, but without 




E. Joy Morris. 

success; this state of things lasted until 1868; the 
same futile attempts had been made in 1821, 1856 
and 1858. This unhappy island since its capture by 
the Turks from the V enetians has been the scene of 
constant contention. It has been devastated and im- 
poverished like the other Christian possessions of 
the Turks, and its history is a record of brutal op- 
pression and misrule. 



214 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



In 1867 Sultan Aziz visited Europe, accompanied 
by his son and his nephews, at which time he was 
seen by th^ author at Richmond on the Thames. 
No other Sultan has ever taken a similar journey. 

Several years ago I was a passenger on the beautiful steamer 
KornilofT belonging to a Russian line between London and Odessa. 
The captain and officers were cultured gentlemen, and when they 
learned that I was an American, treated me with the greatest 
kindness and took me into their confidence. Among our fellow 
passengers, were Said Effendi, a high Turkish official resident 
in Bebek on the Bosphorus — with his harem, Imam and suite, 
going from Malta to Constantinople ; their presence on board led 
the second mate, in a pleasant after dinner talk, to tell me the 
following incident of a previous voyage: A Turkish pasha, with a 
suite, also had taken passage on the Korniloff at Constantinople for 
Malta; on their arrival at Smyrna, the pasha, after inquiring as to 
the length of their stay there, went on shore with his male attend- 
ants to take a Turkish bath, as a religious duty, and in order to be 
thoroughly cleaned from their sins. The hour of departure arrived 
but the pasha and his party were a minus quantity. It was 
impossible to wait any longer and the Korniloff steamed out of the 
harbor of Smyrna just as the Turkish owner of the harem and his 
servants rushed frantically down on the pier, waving their hand- 
kerchiefs, and gesticulating to the captain. But in vain ! Alas for 
the obduracy of the Russian gcvermeut officer who would not allow 
his steamer to be hindered by the delay of a sinless Turk wishing 
to join his harem ! He was compelled to wait for the next steamer 
and found his wives awaiting him at Malta, having received nothing 
but kind and gentlemanly treatment from the officers of the Korni- 
loff. 

In 1869 two important events occurred; the first 
was the opening of the railway between Constanti- 
nople and Adrianople. The second was the in- 
auguration of the Suez canal, which connects the 
Mediterranean and the Red Sea. This reduces the 
distance between Western Europe and India from 
11,379 to 7,623 miles. This feat is one of the most 
wonderful engineering triumphs of modern times, 
and was completed by the energy and perseverance 
of Ferdinand De Lesseps. 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 21$ 

In the same year, Sultan Abdul Aziz issued an 
Irade or mandate, forbidding Turkish subjects from 
expatriating themselves by becoming citizens of 
other countries without his permission. During the 




Sultan Abdul Aziz. 



administration of Minister S. S. Cox, the United 
States informed the Turkish government that it 
would not acknowledge that law ; but to this day 



2l6 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



the Sublime Porte refuses to recognize the naturali- 
zation of any subject who left Turkey after 1869. 

In 1870 a great fire occured at Pera opposite 
Constantinople, when 9,000 houses were destroyed 
and 2,000 people perished. 

The ' first fire brigade in Constantinople was 
organized in 1874, by the Count Edmond Szechenyi 
Pasha, a Hungarian nobleman, under whose control 
it has been ever since. 

During this reign, several disturbances took place 
in the Danubian provinces which hastened the 
decline of the Ottoman Empire. 

Inl August, 1875, an insurrection broke out in Her- 
Z3gdvina against the Sultan, which neither the arms, 
threats or promises of the Turks would quell. The 
inhabitants of Montenegro, a brave and hardy 
people; ' called the Black Mountaineers — from the 
darkf pine forests on their mountains, sympathized 
with, and assisted the Herzegovenians during this 
revqlt. Montenegro, although nominally subject to 
Turkey, had for several years carried on a periodical 
warfare with varying success, one incident of which 
is Worthy of special mention. A detachment of 
several hundred Turks entered a rocky pass, 
accompanied by their brass band, and were captured 
by the Montenegrins who were in ambush ; after 
this the Turkish soldiers were compelled to exchange 
their uniforms for the much worn garments of their 
captors and then released to return to their own 
head-quarters. As they approached the Turkish 
camp they were fired upon by their own comrades, 
who mistook the wearers of the Montenegrin uni- 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



217 



form for their enemies ; by this error they were all 
sent to the Mohammedan paradise. Meanwhile the 
band was compelled to play during the night for the 
amusement of their victors. 

Matters of graver import occupied the Sultan's 
attention at that time, for the Turks were incited to 
insurrection in the different mosques of Constanti- 
nople by the Softas and Mollahs in order to estab- 
lish reforms in the government, and they demanded 
the dismissal of the grand vizir Mahmoud Nedim, 
and the Sheikh ul-Islam, which had been promised 
by the Sultan. 

Later on many of the Softas and Mollahs were 
organized into regiments and sent to the battle field, 
being misled by the false reports published in all the 
Turkish papers, and posted up in every street by 
the authorities, that the Turks were gaining on the 
insurgents. 

On the 7th of May, 1876. the French and German 
consuls at Salonica, Messrs. Paul Moulin and Henry 
Abbott, were murdered. This unfortunate event 
was caused in the following manner : A Bulgarian 
girl, a convert to Mohammedanism, became dis- 
gusted with harem life, and returned to Salonica, 
claiming the protection of the Russian consul. On 
her arrival there she was taken forcibly from the 
Turkish guards by some Greeks, and carried to the 
house of a relative, who was also the consul both for 
America and Russia. The Turks of Salonica were 
irritated by this and claimed her as long as she wore 
the Turkish costume. Messrs. Moulin and Abbott, 
who were brothers-in-law, both young men of good 



218 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



family, wishing to quell the excitement, went with 
the governor of Salonica to the mosque Yeni Djami. 
Their presence increased the tumult, however, and 
the consuls were beaten to death by a mob of fanat- 
ics, in the governor's presence. 

The revolution in Herzegovina continued tor 
nearly a year, and meanwhile an attempted revolt 
took place in Bulgaria. The Turkish government, 
in adaption to its regular troops, employed thous- 
ands of savage Bashi-Bozouks, such as Circassians, 
and Zeibeks, who committed the most brutal and in- 
describable tortures upon the Christians early in 
1876, the report of which filled Christendom with 
horror. (See Argyle's Eastern Question.) 

Mr. Baring, of the British embassy at Constani- 
nople, visited Bulgaria during that time, and states 
that the authorities of Tartar-Bazardjik had ordered 
Ahmed Agha of Dospat to march against Batak. 
He reached that place on the 9th of May, and sum- 
moned the inhabitants to give up their arms, but 
they refused to do so, fearing the consequences. 
Ahmed in reply solemnly swore that if they would 
give up their arms, not a hair of their heads should 
be touched ; the villagers believing him, acceded to 
his request. Instantly the Bashi-Bozouks attacked 
and slaughtered them in cold blood, excepting about 
1,200 who took refuge in the church ; they were pur- 
sued by the Turks, who tore the tiles off the roof, 
threw burning pieces of wood and rags saturated 
with petroleum into the crowd of human beings 
inside. At last the door was forced in, all were 
killed except eighty girls who were carried off. For 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



219 



this exploit Ahmed Agha and his colleagues, Tos- 
soun Bey and Nejib Eftendi, were decorated by the 
government tvith the order of the Medjidie. Ac- 
cording to Mr. Baring's account fifty-four Bulgar- 
ian villages were burned and destroyed, and their 
inhabitants met the same cruel fate. The total num- 
ber massacred was estimated at 25,000. A pamphlet 
published in England entitled, " The Aborigines' 
Friend," narrates the work of the late Stamatios L. 
Spanoudis, a Greek gentleman of Constantinople, — 
an intimate friend of the author, — who rescued large 
numbers of children previously kidnapped by the 
Circassians, Bashi-Bozouks, and other marauders in 
1876; many of whom had been sold in Constanti- 
nople and in Asia Minor. Another pamphlet, pub- 
lished also in England, " The Kidnapping of Bulgar- 
ians During the Russo-Turkish War," mentions the 
number saved by him from the sad fate which other- 
wise awaited them. Over 200 boys and girls of 
different ages were rescued, several from the ex- 
grand vizir Savfet Pasha's summer residence at Can- 
lidja, a village on the Bosphorus ; from the ex-grand 
vizir Edhem Pasha's house at Ouzoun-Tcharshi, 
Stamboul ; from the house of Said Pasha's son near 
Vlanga, Stamboul ; from Sherif Pasha's house at 
Scutari ; from Geifyk Hassan Pasha's house at 
Bebek, a village on the Bosphorus ; from Kemal 
Pasha's house at Scutari ; eight girls, aged 17 to 18, 
from Kiamil Pasha's house at Bebek, on the Bos- 
phorus ; from the house of Kiazim Bey, ex-prefect 
of Constantinople. 



220 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



In the year 1876, Sultan Abdul Aziz, in conse- 
quence of the dissatisfaction of his subjects, was 
forcibly deposed by his pashas. On* the night of 
the 30th of May, he was taken by sea from his 
palace of Dolma-Bagtche, with his retinue of wives, 
and secluded in the Eski-Serai, or the Seraglio, 
thence w^as conveyed to the Tchiraghan palace on 
the Bophorus, and an end was put to his miserable 
existence on June 4, 1876. 

Abdul Aziz was tall, and stout, with a haughty 
manner. Among the events of his reign, was the 
formation of a mounted body guard, consisting of 
the sons of noble families in the subdued provinces 
taken as hostages, and wearing the richly embroid- 
ered, picturesque and beautiful costumes of their 
respective countries. 

Like all his predecessors he maintained a large 
harem, consisting of 1,000 odalisques. 

The Sultan, except on special occasions, eats alone. His meals are 
served in silver vessels closely sealed with a paper slip, which is 
stamped. The chief chamberlain breaks the seal and tastes every 
dish before it is given to the Sultan ; this is done in his presence 
as a precaution against poison, and it is eaten from the dish in which 
it is served. 

In the residences of the pashas, and in the homes of the wealthy, 
all the meals are prepared in the kitchen of the selamlik, and 
the necessary portion is taken to the haremlik by the aivaz, or 
bearers for this purpose. The food is carried on large wooden 
trays covered with cloths; on their arrival at the harem door, the 
bearers call out Destour ! Destour ! — Keep away. Thus the slave 
girls are apprised of their presence, and hide themselves while the 
trays are placed on the floor, after which they are taken upstairs 
by the servants, for the use of the household. It is not customary 
for the master or male members of the family to join the women 
at the table. The houses are divided into two parts — the Selam- 
lik and Haremlik; the former is occupied by the men as a residence 
and for social purposes, while the women have the same right to, 
and use of the haremlik. In the latter, no man, except the master, 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



221 



is ever allowed to enter, and when a Hanoum or lady visitor is 
there, the entrance is prohibited even to him. The Turkish 
" Hanoums " or ladies, many of whom are of Circassian birth, never 
go out unveiled, the only part of the face visible being their eyes; 
their heads are covered entirely with " Yasmak," or thin white 
gauze, two folds of which are used; one passes around the fore- 
head, the other is placed just below the eyes, and both are fastened 
ed at the back of the head and fall under the Feridje, or silk cloak, 
which covers the entire body. Thus disguised, they may go about 
as they please in the day time, without the knowledge of their 
husbands, and they are to be seen everywhere. Groups in gayly 
colored dress, shopping in the bazars, or under the trees by the 
sweet waters of Europe and Asia, or gliding on the Bosphorus in 
caiques or wherries, those of high rank being attended by one or 
more eunuchs. They also carry parasols of the gayest hue, which 
are generally open even after dark. This protection renders the face 
invisible and is called "Nam-Ihram/' According to the teachings of 
the Koran, woman is of no value, and is spoken of as a slave. The 
Hanoums, if wealthy, are guarded by eunuchs, their husbands are 
their absolute masters. 

Once a week, as a religious duty, they go to the bath and remain 
there the entire day, indulging in all the gossip of their quarter. 

Abdul Aziz erected several splendid edifices on 
the Bosphorus, such as the palace of Beylerbey in 
1865 ; the Tchiraghan palace, the Yildiz palace or 
the Star residence on the top of the hill of Beshik- 
tash, now used as the residence of the reigning 
Sultan. 

He organized a fleet of iron-clads ; and in 1876 
the underground railway which unites Galata with 
Pera was built. His nephew Murad V. was pro- 
claimed Sultan in his stead, but proving to be an 
imbecile, he resigned and is closely secluded in the 
palace of Tchiraghan, and was succeeded by his 
brother, Abdul Hamid II., who is the reigning 
sovereign of Turkey. 



XXXV. 
SULTAN ABDUL HAMID II. 
1876. 

Abdul Hamid, the second son of Abdul Medjid, 
was born on the 22d of September, 1842. His 
mother died while he was an infant, and he was 
cared for by his father's second wife, a childless and 
wealthy woman. 

In 1867 he accompanied his uncle, Sultan Abdul 
Aziz, to Europe, and on the 31st of August, 1876, he 
ascended the throne, as Sultan Abdul Hamid II. 
(The author was an eye witness of the pomp attend- 
ing this ceremonial ) 

Events of great importance occurred in the early 
part of his reign. The revolt increased in the 
Danubian Principalities, and in the same year 
Alexander II. notified the Sultan, that if he could 
not give satisfactory guarantee for the better 
government of his Christian subjects the Czar would 
interfere. 

In the following December a conference of the 
great powers was held in Constantinople, and on 
the 31st of March, 1877, a protocol was signed by 
them; but it was not accepted by the Turks and it 
was evident that the matter must be settled by the 
sword. 

On the 23d of April, 1877, Russia declared 
war against Turkey ; on the 27th of June, the 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



223 



Russian army, in three divisions, crossed the 
Danube, captured Tirnova, and soon after Gen. 
Gourko made his daring expedition across the 




Sultan Abdul Hamid II. 



Balkan, and took Kysanlik and Eski-Zaghra. In 
Asia, the Russians captured Ardahan, and overthrew 
the Turkish army, which was afterward followed by 



224 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY, 



the fall of Kars. Osman Pasha, after a strong re- 
sistance, was captured on the ioth of December at 
Plevna, and with his army were taken prisoners ; 
and the remnant of Suleyman Pasha's army was 
dispersed. The Russians advanced to Adrianople 
and took it without difficulty. The Turks then 
asked for an armistice; but the Russians continued 
their march to St. Stefano, a few miles from! Con- 
stantinople. 

England fearing that the Russians might obcupy 
that city, sent her fleet which entered the Darda- 
nelles on the 8th of January and anchored before 
Constantinople. 

On the 31st of January an armistice was concluded 
at St. Stefano, a suburb of the capital, followed on 
June 13, 1878, by the treaty of Berlin, by which the 
Danubian provinces, Servia,*Roumania, and Monte- 
negro, were to be independent ; Bulgaria was! to be 
ruled by a prince under the control of the Sultan. 

A part of Thessaly was given to Greece. Ajustria 
was to hold Bosna and Herzegovina ; England 
occupied the Island of Cyprus, Russia held Kars, 
Ardahan, and Batoun. 

In 1 88 1 the assassins of Abdul Aziz, the ex-grand 
vizir Midhat Pasha, Riza Pasha, Minister of Justice ;, 
Mahmoud Damat Pasha; Sheit Bey; Ized Bey, 
Behlivan Mustafa or wrestler, were punished by 
Sultan Abdul Hamid II. They were exiled with 
the exception of Behlivan Mustafa, his murderer, 
who was condemned to death. Hussein Avni Pasha, 
Minister of War ; Ahmed Pasha Minister of the 
Navy; and Reshit Pasha, who were also in the plot, 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



225 



were previously killed by Hassan Bey, the Circassian 
aid-de-camp and brother-in-law of the deceased 
Sultan. 

The present Sultan, Abdul Hamid II., like many of his predeces- 
sors, lives in constant fear of poisoning or of assassination . On this 
account, it is said that he changes his bedroom every night, so 
that he cannot be easily found. Dr. S. Mavroyeni Pasha, the head 
physician of the palace, is required to visit the Sultan daily and 
must, without fail, make his call early in the morning, so as to see 
his illustrious patient, as he comes out from his harem, examine, 
and if necessary prescribe for him. This is probably on the prin- 
ciple that the prevention of physical ills is better than the cure. 

The instruction of the Turkish children was 
formerly conducted in two kinds of schools, — the 
mektebs or primary schools, taught by the Imams 
or religious men ; and the medresses or schools of 
theology. Abdul Hamid II., the present Sultan, 
however, has established a number of schools in 
which the rising generation is instructed after the 
European methods. 

The great national Greek school, which has a 
library of nearly twenty thousand volumes, is one of 
the finest institutions of learning in Turkey, and was 
built at Fanar, on the Golden Horn, in 1881, by the 
Patriarch of Constantinople, Joachim IV., a man of 
fine scholarship. 

There is also a Greek Theological Seminary, on 
one of the hills of the island of Halki, in the Sea of 
Marmora, built in the year 1844 by the Patriarch 
Germanus IV. In 1885, a Tramway company was 
organized, which opened communication between 
Galata and Chichli. The next year the Dercos 
water was brought to Constantinople and its sub- 
urbs. 



226 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



In 1892 the Sultan organized a new cavalry com- 
posed of the wild, ferocious and desperate Kurds to 
which he gave his own name Hamidie. He also 
summoned a number of their chiefs to Constanti- 
nople, invested them with military rank and decora- 
tions as a reward for horrible atrocities committed 
by them in past years ; provided them with the best 
of modern arms, and a uniform including large black 
woolen caps, having brass badges in front. During 
their stay of several months in the capital, they were 
frequently seen by the author in this dress. These 
Kurds constitute at present a brigade of legalized 
and lawless robbers, free from any restriction or 
control, and were thus sent back to their own coun- 
try. They are the same desperadoes who have 
already, and will continue to devastate and pil- 
lage Armenia. The Turkish government invaria- 
bly denies all these outrages, it is natural that it 
should do so. The Sultan always favored them, for 
he considered them a bulwark against the Armenians 
in case of revolt. 

Arrests are frequently made in Turkey very unjustly, and on the 
slighest pretext or suspicion. The following incident is an illustra- 
tion : A short time before I left Turkey, a number of Armenians, 
under arrest, passed the house at Yenikeui where I was staying 
during the summer. On inquiry I learned that they were Ar- 
menian cooks, quiet middle aged men employed in wealthy families, 
who had served the noon dinner, and were sitting together in a 
coffee-shop discussing their own matters, with the intention of re- 
turning in a couple of hours to their work. Suddenly the coffee- 
shop was surrounded by a number of Turkish police, and in spite 
of their protestations to the contrary, they were arrested on the 
plea that they were planning a conspiracy against the government. 
They were compelled to walk several miles to Pera, guarded by the 
police, who were changed at the different villages on the route. 
What finally became of these poor Armenians, I could not learn, 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



227 



but they were probably "chained and exiled," which in Turkish 
parlance, means, that they were heavily chained together, placed 
on a vessel, and at night quietly dropped into the strong current of 
the Bosphorus. Dead men tell no tales ! 

In 1894 a massacre took place in Turkish Armenia, 
caused by a Kurdish laid in which two Kurds were 
killed. Their corpses were conveyed by friends to 
Moush who declared that the Armenians had re- 
volted ; this served as a pretext for an order from 
the Sultan to massacre the defenceless people, upon 
whom his troops committed the most indescribable 
outrages without the least regard to age or sex. 
The end of this savage butchery came only when 
there was no more material for it — after the inhabit- 
ants of more than thirty Armenian villages had been 
murdered and their houses destroyed. In one place 
a number of men, women and children had collected 
for safety and were finally induced to surrender, 
only on the solemn promise of protection from the 
Kurds, but after having done so, many of them, 
including several priests, were seized and buried 
alive ; some were impaled in Turkish fashion, and 
others were driven into houses, around which in- 
flammable materials were piled, then fired, burning 
them slowly to death. 

Hundreds of women and young girls, after receiv- 
ing the most agonizing and fiendish treatment from 
the soldiers, were killed by them. Even the little 
children were not exempted, and were used as targets 
by the brutal soldiers. As a reward for these out- 
rages, Ziki Pasha, commander of the troops, and the 
Kurdish chiefs associated with him, were decorated 

by Sultan Hamid ! 
16 



228 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



At the close of the Russo-Turkish war, Nerses, the 
Armenian Patriarch, implored the Russian com- 
mander at St. Stefano in concluding the treaty with 
Turkey, to insert a clause stipulating that autonomy 
should be granted to Armenia; for she has been 
subjected from time immemorial to the same in- 
justice and maltreatment as Greece and Bulgaria. 
His request was willingly granted by the com- 
mander, and Turkey accepted the conditions of the 
Berlin treaty to carry out such reforms and improve- 
ments as Armenia needed, and also guaranteed its 
protection, while England became the special guar- 
antor of the promises of the Sublime Porte. Those 
reforms have never heen carried out ; the protection 
has never been given, any more than were the 
reforms promised by the Porte immediately after 
the Crimean war. 

Early in the summer of 1895 an insurrection took 
place in Macedonia, the details of which are too 
recent to require repetition here ; the result of this 
however was favorable to the insurgents. 

In September of the same year, a formidable riot 
occurred in Constantinople in which Armenians and 
Turks were killed. The Armenians fled to the 
churches for security and after several days, through 
the intervention of the Foreign Ambassadors, they 
were allowed to go safely to their homes. 

In October, 1895, an Imperial Irade was granted 
to the Armenians by Sultan Abdul Hamid II., in con- 
formity with the demand made by Russia, England 
and France, but those who understand the Turkish 
character know certainly that those promises of re- 



OTTOMAN DYNASTY. 



229 



form will be evaded if possible, in fact they were not 
made with any intention of fulfillment. Reform of 
any kind is utterly impossible, it is contrary to the 
nature of the Turks. It is truly said that the only 
" good Turk is a dead Turk," for then he is in- 
capable of injuring others in thought, word or deed. 
It is a blot upon the civilization and humanity of the 
Nineteenth Century, that a sensual and grossly 
immoral nation as the Turks, to whom rape and 
abduction are daily events, with a long and appaling 
record of bloodshed, cruelty and 'barbarity, should 
control several millions of Christians who are 
superior to them in character, intelligence and in 
every other respect. 

Is it not time for Christian nations to unite and 
free them from the debasing and demoralizing yoke 
of the Ottomans which they have borne for centuries ? 
The only way to do this is to follow the advice of 
the venerable ex-premier of England — Mr. Gladstone 
— and send the Sultan and his Mohammedan subjects 
"bag and baggage to Bagdad." May the day soon 
come ! 



